Despite the afternoon showers, about 12 vehicles participated in a caravan protest which drove around low-income neighborhoods of Springfield Saturday afternoon.

Protesters, who gathered at Grant Beach Park, were in support of the national "Cancel the Rents" movement, created in response to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on renters and homeowners. The movement was initiated by the Party of Socialism and Liberations (PSL), a national socialist political party.

Caravans across the country showed their support of the movement for a weekend-long demonstration, held Jan. 29-31 in cities including Atlanta, Ga., Denver, Colo. and Los Angeles, Calif.

One-time stimulus checks of any amount are not sufficient, we need consistent replacement income for those who cannot work, the Cancel the Rents website states.

In March 2020, former President Donald Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act into law. The act responds to the pandemics impact on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals and businesses, according to the United States Congress.

Initially, the CARES Act provided $1,200 stimulus checks per individual within American households with incomes less than $99,000 with up to $500 per underage dependent, according to the U.S. Department of Treasury. The CARES Act of 2021 will pay individuals an additional $600 and up to $600 per qualifying dependents.

According to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, as of December 2020, despite the federal financial help, one of five renters were not caught up on rent payments due to the pandemic and 31% of renters living with children are twice as likely to not be caught up on payments.

We believe there is no way this country can come out of this crisis unless rents are canceled and mortgages are stopped, Gloria La Riva, co-founder of the PSL, said.

La Riva attended the caravan with her husband Richard Becker, who is also a member of the PSL. La Riva said the two spent four days driving from San Francisco, Calif. to Springfield for the protest.

La Riva said she and Becker love Springfield but are concerned for its residents.

Going through Springfield, it is shocking how many homes are boarded up, how many broken windows there are with people living in them and its a crisis of homelessness, poor housing, crowded housing and people who cant pay, La Riva said.

According to the Ozarks Alliance to End Homelessness 2020 Unsheltered Point-in-Time Report, a survey conducted in communities across the country on a given night in January counting the number of individuals experiencing homelessness, 238 Springfield community members were homeless on Jan. 30, 2020. 68% of the surveys participants reported sleeping on the streets or in a homeless camp the night prior.

In September 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established a national eviction moratorium a temporary halt of residential evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic until Jan. 31, 2021, according to the CDC.

However, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky extended the moratorium to March 31, states a CDC media statement released on Wednesday, Jan. 20.

Members of the Cancel the Rents movement, including Springfield PSL member Ryan Minor, who participated in Saturdays caravan, dont believe the extension is enough.

These moratoriums are only a delay, Minor said. Once this moratorium ends, people wont be able to pay that back. I dont know of any regular working person who can do that. If theyre already suffering to the point where they cant pay rent, they certainly wont be able to later.

Minor, La Riva and Becker were only three of those who concluded the caravan at Westport Park to eat pizza and discuss the movement under the parks pavilion as rain continued to pour down.

For more information about Cancel the Rents, visit canceltherents.org

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Springfield Party of Socialism and Liberations host Cancel the Rents caravan protest - Standard Online