Erie-area residents need help in combating the affordability crisis affecting people across the nation.
Emerson Bannon was among those who brought that message to Erie City Council.
“We need something better than what we are getting,” Bannon, an Erie resident, said at council’s regular meeting on April 15.
He was among a number of citizens — many affiliated with local social justice group Erie County United — who spoke during the public comment portion of council’s regular meeting in the Bagnoni Council Chambers at City Hall.
Erie’s Treva Henderson spoke to Erie City Council on April 15, 2026 about affordability concerns.
Erie County United urged citizens to attend the meeting and share their stories about how rising costs related to rent/housing, groceries, gasoline, health care and other items are affecting them.
Bannon said he has been working with the social justice group to conduct research on affordability and its impact.
“We need a public option. We need affordability,” Bannon said.
‘People are having a hard time’: Residents weigh in on Erie housing
‘We need to set a standard’
At City Council’s previous regular meeting on April 1, community organizer and Erie County United director Marty Nwachukwu urged city and county officials to approach the state for financial help to combat affordability for residents.
That plea comes at a time when inflation is rising nationwide and the U.S. is engaged in a costly war with Iraq.
Nwachukwu suggested pursuing funding via Pennsylvania’s Budget Stabilization Reserve Fund, commonly referred to as the state’s rainy day fund.
Community organizer and Erie County United director Marty Nwachukwu.
That multi-billion-dollar state savings account is designed to be used only in budget emergencies related to economic downturns, and spending from the rainy day fund requires legislative approval.
City Council President Tyler Titus said the idea is worth pursuing, and Mayor Daria Devlin said she is open to having community-wide conversations about affordability.
Nwachukwu spoke to City Council again on April 15.
“As a community and as a city, we need to set a standard of what is affordable and what’s not,” Nwachukwu said.
Citizen concerns
Erie resident Treva Henderson said she’s among the local residents who struggle with paying rent, utilities and other costs, even while holding down a job.
“I live in public housing and I still can’t afford to live there,” Henderson said. “It’s not fair.”
She also urged city leaders to do what they can to make housing more affordable and to create jobs that pay higher wages.
Erie’s Larissa Land said “in my household, taking installment loans to pay for groceries has become normal… ‘Middle class’ now means too poor to live, but not poor enough for any help.”
She said elected officials need to find a way to cap rents and utility prices and “create a minimum wage that is tied to the cost of living with automatic increases built in based on inflation.”
Contact Kevin Flowers at kflowers@timesnews.com. Follow him on X at@ETNflowers.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Erie residents speak out on affordability, ask city council for help