Michele Swan Arrested by Henry County SWAT Team After Fighting Wrongful Eviction

Michele Swan has been locked in a struggle to gain ownership of her home ever since a contentious divorce from her husband, Triveni Omar Singh, in 2012. Despite being granted ownership of the home in her divorce, Ms. Swan was ignored by Chase bank when trying to transfer ownership, and ultimately the home was foreclosed on; sold on the Henry County Courthouse steps to an investment firm.

American Residential, the group that bought the property, has continually refused to negotiate with Michele despite her efforts to buy back the home. Instead they opted to break into the home and remove all of the items of value; furniture, electronics, clothes, and personal momentous. Michele reported the theft to the local police department and detectives asked for entry to the home to discuss the burglary. Per Henry County detectives Michele’s personal items and everything of value was removed and placed off site by American Residential.

Since the foreclosure Michele has been subject to one difficultly after another in her attempt to regain legal control of her home. After being evicted by WRI Group, a property management firm affiliated with American Residential, Michele reclaimed her home in an attempt to rectify the unjust sale to American Residential.

After occupying the home publicly with support from community members for weeks, and receiving no response from American Residential, Michele and her allies where removed from the home by Henry County Police by over twenty officers. After Michele and supporters complied with an order to leave the property, Michele was arrested for criminal trespass and remains in custody at Henry County Jail, supporters are working towards her release.

Update: Michele has been denied bond and has been charged with criminal trespass, theft by taking, and burglary. This is a sad precedent to set for nonviolent housing justice protesters. Tonight there will be a vigil at the Henry County Jail.

There was a time in this country that women were not recognized as land owners, and claims to property by women were not considered legitimate; that dark chapter in American history is supposed to be closed. It is a cruel irony Michele had a rightful claim to her families home, and has been begging the financial institute that profited from Michele's clear injustice to sell her the home at a more than fair price(FYI Michele's loan has been pre-approved for months); yet tonight she sits in a jail cell with fairly serious charges.

It was just years ago that Wall street and the big banks crashed our economy and over 11 million Americans lost their homes and even more lost all of their wealth and NONE or the architects of the worst fraud in human history face jail time...but there's Michele Swan surrounded by a SWAT team for standing up to a system that continues to stack the deck against regular everyday people.

We have an obligation to support Michele Swan, please make a contribution to the bail fund.

We also encourage everyone to sign and share Michele's online petition and follow the hashtag #Justice4Michele on twitter and instagram. 

Michele Swan's Bold Fight for Her Family's Home

A quick rundown and update on the #Justice4Michele campaign:

In 2012, Michele Swan of 1012 Grace Marie Ln, in Ellenwood, GA, signed an uncontested divorce agreement, approved by a judge in Henry County; this agreement, which is still valid, and in-hand, specifically stipulated that Ms. Swan, not her now ex-husband, would be given the rights to the family home at the aforementioned address. She thereby inherited the remaining note on the property, which at the time amounted to $140K. Over the 2 years since the divorce, Michele repeatedly & unsuccessfully attempted to speak with Chase Bank, the mortgage holder, in order to have the note transferred into her name. She was fully equipped & capable of making the payments, the family having hitherto made all payments punctually, often in excess of the monthly amounts owed. Chase ignored Ms. Swan completely, stating that they would only speak with her ex-husband, who was equally unresponsive. The situation culminated in Chase moving ahead with foreclosure, in spite of Ms. Swan’s ability to pay, persistence in attempting to do so, and legal right to the note, on Nov. 4, 2014. It was sold at courthouse auction to American Residential Properties (ARP), an investment group based in Scottsdale AZ, at a price of $121K.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Ms. Swan and her 3 children were forcibly evicted from the home in mid-December. After she spoke with WRI, a property management group affiliated with ARP, she was assured that for the interim, she could send them a check in the amount of $2K, in order to effectively rent her own home from them. She sent a cashier’s check (from Chase, no less), and retook residence. It was returned 2 days later; WRI did not acknowledge it, or respond to Ms. Swan thereafter. At that point, Occupy Our Homes Atlanta (OOHA) & friends stepped in; we held a press conference on her behalf on Jan. 5, 2015, which was attended by GA State Senator Fort (D), who made a statement on Ms. Swan’s behalf. From that moment, we made a number of efforts to identify and contact those responsible for the eviction, not to accuse, but to foster an engagement between Ms. Swan and the investment group, so that she might purchase her family home of 11 years from them after the illegal foreclosure occurred. WRI initially acknowledged association with the property, & directed us to speak with ARP in Scottsdale. A paralegal with ARP assured us we would receive further info that day. This did not occur. As a result, a group of activists, headed by Jackie Rodriguez of OOHA, together with Ms. Swan, went to the Buckhead office of WRI, armed with a petition of over 2,600 signatures demanding a negotiation. WRI feigned complete ignorance, and claimed to have no further association with the property. They suggested we contact the “owners,” & again, we spoke with a Senior Paralegal with ARP in Scottsdale, who stated that they had “legal, valid title to the property,” which they intended to enforce. She suggested Ms. Swan use her attorney (something many private citizens do not have) to speak with her ex-husband, & indicated that they had no interest in negotiation with Ms. Swan, because they were not selling; they were “in the business of leasing homes.” This struck us as odd, because this very home is now listed as active on MLS at a price of $190K.

Ms. Swan came home today to find all the locks changed, and the garage jammed. She was able to gain access nonetheless, and she will remain, with the support of OOHA, indefinitely. Spread the word. Bring ARP (@amresprop on twitter) to the table, let them have their money back, and let Michele and her family have their home back. That is all anyone is asking for. #Justice4Michele


Jim Chambers
Guest Writer/Activist
Owner of Henry & June Atlanta

Courage in the Face of Eviction Nightmare

Today long time Ellenwood resident, Michele Swan, with the support of her neighbors and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, publically reclaimed her home today. Evicted over the holidays by WRI Group, a subsidiary of American Residential Leasing Co., Michele has been locked in a battle with WRI Group to claim the house that has rightfully belonged to her since 2003. Michele won her home in a divorce settlement years ago and WRI has refused to recognize her as the owner since her name isn’t on the original loan. As a result WRI has refused to communicate with her or accept any payment for the house.

Michele, and her support network, has reclaimed her home and will remain there until WRI, and American Residential Leasing Co., is willing to come to the table and negotiate a reasonable solution to this situation. Michele is ready, willing, and able to hold a mortgage and make payments on her home. Her only request is that she, and her children, be able to remain in the home they have been investing in for years. Senator Vincent Fort (D) joined Michele to voice his concern over the situation, and the manner in which Michele and her family was being treated. Speaking "We are calling on WRI to do the right thing; sit down at the table and reason together....We want to send a message to WRI, this is a new year and new day. We are not going to let this family be put out, we are going to stand with [them] for as long as it takes."

Michele and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta have continued efforts to enter into dialogue with WRI and ARL to no avail and have no choice but to bring our fight to WRI. American Friends Service Committee will join Michele and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta tomorrow at WRI’s office to send a clear message that Michele will no longer be ignored, and the community is standing beside her.  Tomorrow at 1pm Michele, Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, and her support network will rally in front of WRI, demanding they make this situation right. Michele will no longer be ignored or bullied, and she is ready to take action to get her home back!

Please sign and share Michele's online petition.

Santoro Family Stands Up to Wells Fargo

This past weekend Tony and Ladora Santoro organized a foreclosure free cookout at their home near the Big Chicken in Marietta. The Family bought the home in the mid 90's from Ladoro's parents, paid 20% down and were given a 7.5% interest rate.
The family had been paying ever since until Tony was laid off. Ladoro took on an extra job at McDonald's, working 30 hours a week there and 40 hours a week at Waffle House.

Eventually the family had to go to Wells Fargo with their hardship, asking them for a modification. Instead of working with the family Wells Fargo began to move forward with the foreclosure process despite the face that the family was making partial payments and could easily afford a modified mortgage amount.

Despite the fact that Tony has just gotten a new job Wells Fargo had still not agreed to work out a solution for the Santoro family.

So on Saturday friends, neighbors, and family came together to send a message to Wells Fargo that the Santoro's will not be leaving their home. American Friends Service Committee has worked closely with Occupy Our Homes Atlanta in supporting the Santoro's campaign to save their home from Wells Fargo and look forward to supporting their efforts.

The sad reality is that Wells Fargo would actually profit from a deal that would keep the Santoro's in their home, a home that has been in the family since 1976.

We encourage folks to sign and share the Santoro's online petition by clicking here.

Housing Justice Saturday!

This past Saturday was jam packed with a lot of exciting housing justice work! Saturday morning I had the opportunity to meet with residents of the Peeples town community to talk about the housing crisis. There had been talk about the possibility of working on a community wide initiative to address the issue of foreclosures, evictions, lack of affordable housing, and vacant homes.

We purposed moving forward with a community wide listening project in late January early February. A listening project is a different way to engage with a community. Instead of telling folks what they need or what you can offer, a listening project assumes that folks that live in the community have the best ideas about what they need. Listening projects are a way of finding out what a community would like to see change.

The idea was very well received with multiple residents volunteering yo help do interviews door to door for the listening project. Super excited to move forward on that project next year!


All day the Atlanta Friends Meeting House hosted Occupy Our Homes Atlanta's year end member retreat, at which AFSC had a seat at the table. The retreat is an opportunity to reflect on the last year of work, look at the goals that were set last year, evaluate what was accomplished and what areas still need work. There was also space to set new goals for 2014, one of which is the listening project in Peeples town!

Rob Call put together this pretty amazing 2013 recap video, check it out:






To top off the night we had a holiday party at the Atlanta Friends Meeting House with delicious food, lots of folks, and music. It's important to create space to reflect and celebrate our work and each other. It's hard work, which is why so many call it struggle, which makes it even more important to lift up our victories.

BIG thanks to the Atlanta Friends Meeting House!

South Eastern Housing Justice Academy In Atlanta!

American Friends Service Committee and Occupy Our Homes would like to invite you to attend our first ever Housing Justice Academy in Atlanta October 26-28.

The housing crisis has hit the Southeast especially hard. Thousands of families have already lost their homes, neighborhoods have been destroyed, and despite the media’s attempt to claim a recovery, foreclosures still continue at three times their pre-2007 levels.

Over the last two years, Occupy Our Homes groups around the country have helped hundreds of families fight to stay in their homes- and win with! In Atlanta the American Friends Service Committee has played a key role in providing resources and organizing experience to the movement. We’ve had dozens of victories, winning homes, farms, and even churches back from the bank. We know that the only way to hold Wall Street accountable is to come together and organize–to create a world where people, not banks, have control over their communities.

 For three days this month, we’ll bring together people together to learn tactics and strategies to defend our homes, participate in non-violent direct action, and work on building a housing justice movement in the Southeast.

Click here to register!

The academy is open to anyone who would like to attend.  The registration fee for the general public is $50, which will cover the cost of the trainings, materials, space, and meals each day as well as help provide scholarships to those needing assistance traveling to Atlanta.  For students, senior citizens, or residents facing foreclosure or eviction, the cost is $20. We would like to encourage those who can pay this fee to do so to help support others who cannot. However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.

Childcare will be provided, and we will strive to provide lodging in Atlanta for those who need it as well. Please indicate on the registration page if you need assistance with lodging or transportation and someone will follow up with you soon to arrange it.

ccupy Our Homes Atlanta and the American Friends Service Committee would like to invite you to attend our first ever Housing Justice Academy in Atlanta October 26-28.

The housing crisis has hit the Southeast especially hard. Thousands of families have already lost their homes, neighborhoods have been destroyed, and despite the media’s attempt to claim a recovery, foreclosures still continue at three times their pre-2007 levels.
Over the last two years, Occupy Our Homes groups around the country have helped hundreds of families fight to stay in their homes- and win! In Atlanta we’ve had dozens of victories, winning homes, farms, and even churches back from the bank. We know that the only way to hold Wall Street accountable is to come together and organize–to create a world where people, not banks, have control over their communities.

 For three days this month, we’ll bring together people together to learn tactics and strategies to defend our homes, participate in non-violent direct action, and work on building a housing justice movement in the Southeast.

Click on the green button to register!

The academy is open to anyone who would like to attend.  The registration fee for the general public is $50, which will cover the cost of the trainings, materials, space, and meals each day as well as help provide scholarships to those needing assistance traveling to Atlanta.  For students, senior citizens, or residents facing foreclosure or eviction, the cost is $20. We would like to encourage those who can pay this fee to do so to help support others who cannot. However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Childcare will be provided, and we will strive to provide lodging in Atlanta for those who need it as well. Please indicate on the registration page if you need assistance with lodging or transportation  and someone will follow up with you soon to arrange it.
- See more at: http://occupyourhomesatl.org/housing-justice-academy/#sthash.T7c4PTQu.dpuf

ccupy Our Homes Atlanta and the American Friends Service Committee would like to invite you to attend our first ever Housing Justice Academy in Atlanta October 26-28.

The housing crisis has hit the Southeast especially hard. Thousands of families have already lost their homes, neighborhoods have been destroyed, and despite the media’s attempt to claim a recovery, foreclosures still continue at three times their pre-2007 levels.
Over the last two years, Occupy Our Homes groups around the country have helped hundreds of families fight to stay in their homes- and win! In Atlanta we’ve had dozens of victories, winning homes, farms, and even churches back from the bank. We know that the only way to hold Wall Street accountable is to come together and organize–to create a world where people, not banks, have control over their communities.

 For three days this month, we’ll bring together people together to learn tactics and strategies to defend our homes, participate in non-violent direct action, and work on building a housing justice movement in the Southeast.

Click on the green button to register!

The academy is open to anyone who would like to attend.  The registration fee for the general public is $50, which will cover the cost of the trainings, materials, space, and meals each day as well as help provide scholarships to those needing assistance traveling to Atlanta.  For students, senior citizens, or residents facing foreclosure or eviction, the cost is $20. We would like to encourage those who can pay this fee to do so to help support others who cannot. However, no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
Childcare will be provided, and we will strive to provide lodging in Atlanta for those who need it as well. Please indicate on the registration page if you need assistance with lodging or transportation  and someone will follow up with you soon to arrange it.
- See more at: http://occupyourhomesatl.org/housing-justice-academy/#sthash.T7c4PTQu.dpuf

Bold Action Brings Historic Victory!

On March 18, Mildred Obi-Garrison, joined by Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, American Friends Service Committee, as well as dozens of supporters and community members, moved back into her home in an act of civil disobedience. Mildred had been evicted from her home in Stone Mountain, Georgia by Bank of America last November, despite years of fighting in the courts.

After securing her property back from the bank, supporters set up a 24-hour eviction defense at the home to fend off any possible eviction attempts by the police, and mounted a public pressure campaign against Bank of America, the servicer who had carried out the foreclosure and eviction. After holding a sit-in at a local branch, and gathering thousands of petition signatures online, Bank of America promptly reached out to Mildred and began negotiations.

Today, Mildred can claim victory as those negotiations have finally resulted in a deal that will keep her in her home permanently. Her fight for housing justice has just begun however, as she pledged today to continue the fight alongside the millions of others who are facing housing crisis. Today's win marks a historic victory for the movement, proving that solutions can be worked out, even after eviction.

The tactic of moving homeowners back in post-eviction harkens back to the days of the Great Depression, when communities would band together to move their neighbors' possessions back in after eviction, eventually leading to a moratorium being enacted in 27 states around the country. Bold actions like the ones taken by Ms. Obi and her community are necessary to fight the current crisis, which has left millions of Americans displaced since 2007.

Next month, Mildred will face a judge in Washington DC, for charges of unlawful entry for blocking the revolving doors of Covington and Burling, the white-collar law firm with clients such as Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. The firm, once home to Attorney General Eric Holder, has maintained a consistent revolving door policy with the Department of Justice, who five years after the start of the crisis, has yet to prosecute a single top level Wall Street executive for the financial crisis. Instead, on October 7, the US Attorney will try Mildred along with two other grandmothers who were arrested alongside her. During Mildred's trip to DC her story was covered in the Rolling Stone!

Along with Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and AFSC, today's victory would not have been possible without the help of the National Action Network, and the Rainbow Push Coalition.

Community Fights Back Against Forclosure Auction Of Single Mother

Latonia Wilson and her family were set to have their home auctioned off on the Fulton County courthouse steps today.

 After trying to talk to their mortgage company, Performance View LLC, they have been met with no response to their requests to work out a deal that keeps them in the home. Latonia took out a lease to own deal on the house a few years ago for $50,000. According to property tax records, the house is currently appraised at $13,000. Now she's unemployed and needs Dan West with Performance View LLC to work with her to keep her in the home. Dan West has a shady history, his listed office space is non-existent, and he needs to be held accountable. Read about his past dealings as head of Intown Venture.

Today, rather than sitting back and letting a profit hungry investor/Wallstreet hedge fund buy Latonia's home from underneath here, we decided to show up in force with and hold up pictures of Latonia and her family in front of the house. We wanted to make it clear that this home was filled with people who are loved and needed in their community, that whoever purchases the home will have to deal with us. When it came time for Latonia's home to be auctioned, no one would bid on it.

There's still a long way to go for Latonia's struggle. Today we made sure that the property did not change hands to an unknown investor, instead it went back to Performance View LLC, who now has the power to move forward on the eviction of Latonia's family.

Latonia lives in a community that has been rocked by the housing crisis. There are already enough empty homes in Latonia's community, mostly the result of really bad loans pushed on folks, including Latonia. It's time we stop blaming the victims and start fixing the problem in our city. Please sign and share Latonia's online petition. 

Residents Organize Against Eviction and Foreclosure in Stone Mountain

Today over 30 people came together for a housing justice meeting in Stone Mountain. What precipitated the gathering in was the recent eviction of longtime community activist Mildred Obi.

Although the communities love for Mildred certainly brought folks together, it was clear that she's not the only one experiencing hard times. We heard from multiple residents facing eviction and foreclosure.

For a first meeting of it's kind in Stone Mountain I was surprised how fired up and excited folks were about organizing their neighborhoods to resist evictions and foreclosures. We will be hosting a second meeting this Saturday at 1pm, venue will be posted by Monday morning.

Fannie Mae Break Through

After a year solid direct action and public pressure campaigns from grassroots organizations all over the country, Fannie Mae agreed to meet with us this past week to, discuss policies that many believe are holding our communities hostage, to discuss 98 homeowner/tenant campaigns that need to be resolved asap, and to develop a direct line of communication moving forward.

I was invited to attend the meeting along with 12 other housing justice organizers. I was especially excited that Mark Harris, a homeowner with an active campaign against Fannie Mae, was able to travel with me from Atlanta to Washington DC to represent his case in person and to deliver his online petition.

We were set to meet with three high level Fannie Mae officials; The communication’s Director, the vice president of sales, the vice president of REO fulfillment.

 

One thing that was made clear at the beginning of the meeting was that any principle reduction was off the table. Fannie may was put under federal conservatorship after the government bailed Fannie Mae out. That means that Fannie Mae is now overseen and forced to comply with FHFA, which is run by Ed DeMarco. Ed DeMarco has said that he believes that principle reduction presents a moral hazard for America despite moderate voices like President Obama and Secretary of Treasury Timothy Geithner calling for some sort of mass principle reduction that would act as a people’s bailout.  

Our crew represented!  Melonie Griffiths facilitated fantastically, and each Fannie Fighter (Marcia Iza, Marilyn Elazegui, Rose McGee, Mark Harris, and Kenneth Brown--representing his mother) was powerful in sharing their story and demands.  Fannie Mae agreed to continue formal communications and to look at cases (including new ones) and certain policy areas with us.  They said a clear NO to principal reduction but did show a willingness to work with us on some areas including donation of properties for $1 or low cost and tenant issues.  They will be give us an update in writing by the end of next week on the post-foreclosure cases we submitted (pre-foreclosure they say will take more time to get us responses.) 

" I went to D.C. to get principle reduction. That did not happen, but i did learn more about the process. This action is like chopping down a tree. Each sing of the ax weakens the tree and at that very instant the tree falls under its own weight. I lean not to my own understanding!!!" stated Mark Harris after the meeting.

Many of the systemic changes we have been pushing for are above the heads of those we were meeting with, so the fight must continue. Ultimately the removal of Ed Demarco would be a major victory, and it’s been heard through the grapevine that Obama said he would do it after the election. It’s up to us to make sure he doesn't put that on the back burner.

Dear Bank Of America

After fighting to stay in his home for over a year, JoSelf Freeman reached out to Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and American Friends Service committee for help. With JoSelf leading the charge we organized several demonstrations in front of the bank, we started an online petition, and hundreds of people across the country called and emailed the bank asking them to make a deal to keep JoSelf in his home.

Bank of America claimed that they would work on a modification for JoSelf, them turned around and offered him a cash for keys deal to get him of his home.

JoSelf just sent the following letter to Bank of America's Special Servicing Advocate Brian Gertz and hasn't yet received a reply:


Dear Mr. Gertz,

For many reasons, I ask that you abandon your quest to remove me from my home. This is very difficult for me. You are so persistent, I'm beginning to believe that you have discovered oil on this property.What's up?!

My son, Burundi-Soweto, is 14 and made his school basket ball team...now, how do I ask him to leave to go to another school? How do you move from a house, with a garage and storage, into an apartment? What do with the lawn equipment and thousands of tools for home maintenance? How do you justify your actions when you know that this process is illegal.

I'm to old to move. I don't have the energy and I'm scheduled for a knee replacement surgery. I must have shelter, so I can't think of a better place then where I am. This is the first time I've had neighbors in the true sense of the word.  Don't ask me to leave! My son and I are happy with my Neighborhood. Put yourself in my place.

Think about it.

Respectfully submitted,

JoSelf Freeman

To sign JoSelf's petition Click here

JoSelf Freeman Stands Up To Bank Of America

Today a delegation of struggling homeowners, led by JoSelf Freeman, went to the Bank of America branch closest to JoSelf's home in Fayetteville to deliver a simple message.

Bank of America caught wind of our plans to stop by and decided to make the inside of their bank closed to all costumers, and they hired an armed guard to circle the building.

We decided not to let that stop us. JoSelf led us right up to the door. We were greeted by an armed guard and the bank manager, who came outside to ask us what our business was. The bank manager informed us that there was a security situation.

We let the manager know that we were not there to cause any harm to him or the other workers in the branch, that we knew they were low on the pay scale and had little decision making power. We were there to make sure the Higher ups at BofA knew that we were not going to sit back while they evicted a senior citizen who is loved and needed in his community.

It seems that BofA is so frightened by us that the mere possibility of small delegation of us going to a branch to deliver a letter is cause to hire armed men and lock the doors. Seems like it would be a lot easier to just except a fair monthly payment from JoSelf.

JoSelf has a hearing tomorrow, the outcome could mean immediate eviction. Please sign his online petition and consider making a call on his behalf tomorrow:

Call/email Ja'Nay Carswell with Bank of America  at : 877-471-4367 ext 225756 and ask her to rescind the foreclosure of JoSelf Freeman at 395 Highway 279, Fayetteville, Georgia 30214 and grant him the modification he needs to stay in his home. Georgia doesn’t need another boarded up house! 
Email Ja’Nay Carswell at janay.carswell@bankofamerica.com

A Blitz of Housing Justice Action in Atlanta!

From multiple cookouts, to press conferences, call-in campaigns, and physical eviction defense Atlanta, has seen a flurry of housing justice activity.

Both Jacqueline Barber and Sherrye Calhoun hosted eviction free cookouts in their yards which not only built support for their struggle against the banks, it also brought out others facing housing struggles. Both cookouts became touchstones for folks in struggle that had seen Jacqueline and Sherrye's stories and were inspired to fight the financial institutions that would have them on the street with nowhere to go.

One of those people was JoSelf Freeman, who was facing an eviction today. JoSelf saw Jacqueline Barber's story on the news and was inspired to reach out. After scrambling to put together a phone/email blast to put pressure on Fannie Mae and Bank of America, putting pressure on local government, and filling his yard with home defenders this morning, JoSelf's eviction was put off for two and a half more weeks; hopefully enough time to pressure Bank of America and Fannie Mae to make a deal that keeps JoSelf in his home.

Sherrye Calhoun also had a press conference this morning to declare she would not be leaving her home despite being under threat of arrest for trespassing in the place she's called home for 30 years.

It's taken a lot of organizing work, crippling housing conditions, and a lot of courage from residents to break the code of silence and refuse to leave their homes, but there finally seems to be some real momentum toward changing the way our communities approach housing.

Everyday another resident reaches out with a willingness to stand up, speak out, and refuse to leave. It now feels within the realm of possibility that we could have the beginnings of a powerful housing justice movement. The shear math of the numbers those struggling to keep a roof over their heads versus the number of those who continue to build their fortunes on the shattered dreams of others is encouraging. Those struggling far outnumber those who profit off the housing crisis.


Please sign and share JoSelf's petition: http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/don-t-evict-joself-freeman-from-his-home



Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee

You Can Help Save My Home From Wells Fargo!

Since this June you've all helped keep me in my home and given a voice to the thousands struggling in the Atlanta metro area. As a result of the pressure all of you helped put onto Wells Fargo, they called me last month and said they were given authorization to work on a loan modification.  It was historic news considering the fact that they had already foreclosed on my home! When you’re as low as I was at the time, any good news is elating; I honestly thought I had won!

I didn't, and Wells Fargo has been dragging their feet in what feels like a waiting game. I was supposed to get word on my modification yesterday. It looks like my time is running out; while Wells Fargo takes their time on my modification I could be evicted any day now.

Can you help give Wells Fargo another push to make a deal that keeps me in my home? I’m not asking for a handout, I have money to pay, and the last thing my neighborhood needs is another empty house. One phone call can make a huge difference.

Can you help me win a victory for the 99%?

Here's how you can help today:

 Call Mike Heid: Please call Mike Heid, President of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, at (515) 213-6117 and demand that he make a deal to keep me in my home. Here's what you can say:"Make the modificationt  to keep Edmond Steve Boudreaux (Loan #00006391834) in his home. Accept his payments instead of leaving another empty house in our communities."

In Gratitude,

Steve Boudreaux

Brigitte Walker and Chris Frazer Go To Washington!!!

Yesterday, community leaders, advocates and housing experts traveled the Nation’s Capital to meet with White House officials about implementing the necessary solutions to the housing crisis that has enveloped Georgia.

American families continue to face a crisis in housing, with 2 million foreclosure filings this year, and millions more at risk. Over 15 million homeowners are underwater, meaning that their home is worth less than they owe on their mortgage. Georgia is projected to be one of the hardest hit states in the nation this year.

The crisis is rooted in wrongdoing by lenders and Wall Street and inadequate rules and enforcement. The misconduct included predatory sub-prime lending, targeting of senior citizens, veterans, and communities of color, and bundling and pawning off flawed mortgages, avoiding accountability. Those forces combined with record long-term unemployment to bring our economy to the brink of collapse, and continue to jeopardize our economic recovery.

The White House invited Brigitte Walker and Christine Frazer, both with Occupy Our Homes, ATL to discuss their priorities and possible solutions to the crisis moving forward. They were joined by over 150 other advocates and experts from across the country. 

Brigitte Walker had the special honor of addressing the whole delegation, which included senor White House staff. She received a standing ovation on more than one occasion. 

Brigitte and Christine met with key White House officials, including about specific solutions ranging from principle reduction and affordable housing.

After the White House meeting, participants visited the offices of Senators to urge them to lead on bills currently under consideration, and other potential solutions to the housing crisis.

We are very excited that Christine and Brigitte where the ones who were chosen to represent Georgia and find them to be extremely appropriate choices as they both have struggled hard through our states historic housing crisis. We are also very grateful to the Home Defenders League for making their trip possible!