A law to stop bullying of elderly and disabled residents

Jerry Halberstadt Fri, 06/13/2025 - 16:13

Testimony on S1007/H1525, An Act to prevent and respond to bullying of elderly and disabled residents as provided to the Joint Committee on Housing

To the Honorable Chairs, Julian Cyr and Richard M. Haggerty, and the Honorable Members of the Joint Committee on Housing, 

Greetings:

I am writing to follow up and extend my testimony presented in the hearing on S.1007: An Act to prevent and respond to bullying of elderly and disabled residents. 

As co-founder and coordinator of the Stop Bullying Coalition, and as an appointee of the Governor to serve on the Commission on Bullying in 2017 (Resolves 2016 Chapter 2), I have worked with legislators, professionals, staff, and tenants to better understand the sources and remedies for bullying, mobbing, and harassment. I am elderly, live with disability, and have resided in subsidized housing for over a decade, where I observed highly skilled bullies enabled by the housing provider causing harm to their neighbors.

S1007 can provide housing providers, managers, and staff with training and resources to better enable them to provide safe homes for tenants in subsidized and private housing developments. 

I strongly favor and endorse passage of this essential legislation. 

I also seek effective oversight and accountability. If the housing provider (private landlord or developer, local housing authority board) they are not dedicated to making sure that bullying does not find fertile ground, tenants and staff are beset by fear of retaliation should they complain about bullying. 

The attorney general and HUD fair housing affirm that the law makes the housing provider responsible for preventing harassment and assuring the rights of tenants including for peaceful enjoyment. We continue to see housing authority boards and developers of subsidized housing condoning or taking part in bullying.

A good manager that is supported by their housing authority or landlord can put an end to harassment, mobbing, and bullying and can turn things around in a day or two, it is not hard or complicated. 

Therefore, I assert that the key to preventing bullying in housing is to assure accountability for the housing provider. 

As I read the S1007 bill, I do not find actual means for accountability for the housing provider (manager/owner). Based on discussions during the hearing, the committee may believe that the bill has effective oversight.

Employees and not the housing provider are named as potential sources of mobbing in S1007.

“Mobbing”, is bullying that owner/management employees condone or take part in, with the purpose of demeaning the victim and excluding them from the social life, quiet enjoyment of occupancy, or occupancy status in a covered residential community.

Any and all complaints would come to the housing provider. If the housing provider (owner/manager) condones or takes part in bullying, the only remedy in the bill is for a tenant to complain to the attorney general. At present, tenants can open a civil action (beyond their means) and can  already complain to the attorney general, however I believe that the attorney general rarely, if ever, intervenes. Don’t we need some direction for action by the attorney general?

Please consider adopting an appropriate amendment to use S1007 to create accountability. A model for how this would read is in H1814.

Please do not hesitate to reach out for any additional information or clarification.

Thank you for your consideration and your service.


All the best,

Jerry

Jerry Halberstadt

Coordinator, Stop Bullying Coalition
 

Testimony on S1007, as delivered on June 4, 2025

A video of the hearing, with testimony on 1007, is available.

Thank you for your service, Chairs Julian Cyr and Richard M Haggerty, and the members, and staff of the Joint Committee on Housing.

I am Jerry Halberstadt, the Coordinator of the Stop Bullying Coalition.

On behalf of the Stop Bullying Coalition, I am pleased to urge passage of S1007 of Senator Lovely and H1525 of Representative Honan because it can enable housing providers to create a safer, more supportive community setting and thus help to reduce bullying, mobbing which is bullying by a group, and harassment in housing.

This bill should be enhanced and strengthened to provide oversight over, and accountability for, providers of subsidized and public housing.

A major source of bullying is the failure of the housing provider to meet their legal obligation to prevent harassment.

The resources of S1007 may not suffice to motivate all housing providers, therefore it is essential to provide oversight and enforcement to complement and fully realize the benefits of S1007 and thus assure the right of peaceful enjoyment and protection from bullying, mobbing, and harassment. Establishing an office of the tenant advocate in the Office of the Attorney General would do the job.

With the help of tenants, commissioners, and subject experts, I was the lead on extensive research, including a statewide survey while serving as the only tenant commissioner on the Commission on Bullying in 2017. Our research showed that many of the respondents lived in developments with multiple examples of bullying, mobbing, and harassment. Very few got relief.

The root problem is the lack of effective intervention by the housing provider.

The Chair of the Commission prevented me from making an official minority report to bring attention to these findings and the need for oversight because,

“We don’t want you to advocate for tenants.”

Today, I advocate for tenants and ask you to amend and to pass this important legislation, S.1007: An Act to prevent and respond to bullying of elderly and disabled residents.

I thank Senator Lovely for her constant support of our efforts to eliminate bullying from housing.

I am grateful for the ideas and support of the members and partners of our coalition.

Thank you.

Resources

Jerry Halberstadt and Marvin So, Statewide Survey on Bullying of Tenants in Public and Subsidized Multifamily Housing: Report of the Committee for Research on Conditions and Prevalence of the Commission on Bullying

Jerry Halberstadt, Survey & Qualitative Research 2017-2020

Jerry Halberstadt, Community Support for Respect: Comments prepared for delivery at the November 14, 2024 gathering of the Anti-Hate, Anti-Bias Task Force of Middlesex DA Marian T. Ryan 

Halberstadt, Jerry, Sticks, Stones, Gossip & Governance Part 1 of 2

Halberstadt, Jerry, Sticks, Stones, Gossip & Governance Part 2 of 2

Halberstadt, Jerry, Bullying & Democracy At Apple Village

Halberstadt, Jerry, , 2020, Community Norms and Governance of Housing

Commission on Bullying: RESOLVE CREATING A COMMISSION TO STUDY WAYS TO PREVENT BULLYING OF TENANTS IN PUBLIC AND SUBSIDIZED MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Resolves/2016/Chapter2

“Office of the Attorney General Advisory: The failure of management and the landlord to assure peaceful enjoyment for all tenants is unlawful, according to the Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts”

S.1007: An Act to prevent and respond to bullying of elderly and disabled residents. https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/S1007

H1814: An Act to create the office of the tenant advocate in the Office of the Attorney General https://malegislature.gov/Bills/194/H1814

Statement of Janice Harper, bullying and mobbing in group settings. http://stopbullyingcoalition.org/harper-mobbing,

FR–5248–F–02 Quid Pro Quo and Hostile Environment Harassment and Liability for Discriminatory Housing Practices Under the Fair Housing Act, Final Rule published in the Federal Register on September 14,2016, CFR Citation: 24 CFR 100, p. 63075

The Attorney General is empowered to act to protect the rights of a victim of bullying and mobbing, including under the authority of MGL c.12 Section c. 12, §§ 11H-J and M.G.L. c. 151B, § 4(4A).2 

Tenant Advocate Resources http://stopbullyingcoalition.org/tenant-advocate-resources

Molly Rockett, Private Property Managers, Unchecked: The Failures of Federal Compliance Oversight in Project-Based Section 8 Housing, 134 Harv. L. Rev. F. 286 March 2021 

Summary of S1007 provided courtesy of Senator Lovely

SENATE BILL 1007: An Act to prevent and respond to bullying of elderly and disabled residents

SPONSOR: Senator Joan B. Lovely

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: N/A

COMPANION BILL: H.1525 (Representative Kevin G. Honan)

EXISTING LAWS AFFECTED: Ch. 121B §61

PROPOSED LEGISLATION:

  • Adds a new Section 61 to GL Chapter 121B (Housing and Urban Renewal) to prohibit bullying of elder residents of housing developments subsidized by the state or federal government;

  • defines the practices considered as bullying and cyberbullying;

  • directs the Public Safety Division of the Attorney General's office to consult with other agencies and develop a model plan and curriculum for preventing bullying of elders;

  • requires each residential community to develop and implement its own plan to address bullying and lists the components that must be included in the plan;

  • requires staff at said residential communities to undergo ongoing professional development related to bullying prevention and remediation.

This article was posted on June 3, 2025. It has been updated to include the cover letter presenting the testimony in written form to the Joint Committee on Housing, and to revise the oral testimony as presented.

Tags

bullying
legislation