Victory! Jacqueline Barber Wins Back Her Home After a Year Long Fight!

Last October Retired APD detective and cancer survivor Jacqueline Barber reached out to Occupy Our Homes Atlanta facing immediate eviction. Like millions of Americans, Jacqueline’s foreclosure documents were filled with forged documents and she was dual tracked, which means while the bank was promising to work with her on a loan modification they were also working to foreclose on her. Despite having money to pay, her lender refused to make a deal that would keep her and her family in the home.

American Friends Service Committee has worked along side Jacqueline to launch an aggressive campaign that included around the clock eviction defense, a massive online petition, protests, sit-ins and even a trip to US Bank’s headquarters in Minneapolis.

Finally Ocwen, who now services the loan for US Bank, has agreed to sell back the home at below market value. Jacqueline  Barber’s home is now safe from eviction and the home will be hers for years to come. Famous whistle blower Lynn Szymoniak also stepped up to support Jacqueline’s efforts by contributing $15,000 toward Jacqueline’s buyback.

Occupy Our Homes Atlanta is thrilled about Jacqueline’s victory. We’re happy that she can finally focus on her recovery free from the stress of potentially being evicted by force from her home. In the end, the solution to Jacqueline’s housing crisis, principal reduction, was simple and should not have taken an almost yearlong battle to achieve. 

Like so many Americans Jacqueline was treated like a number instead of a human being. The sad reality is that those that already have so much are the ones that caused the housing crisis, while those who struggle are the one's that pay for it with their equity and homes. 

Early on in Jacqueline's fight she said she would have to be dragged out of her home, that she refused to roll over and play dead, and that she would do whatever it took to stand her ground against  Wall street. Jacqueline's victory is an invitation to resist wrongful foreclosure and eviction, resist abusive landlords, resist Wall Street control of our community's.

CBS story on Jacqueline's victory