American Friends Service Committee, Occupy Our Homes, Jobs with Justice, Right to the City, Georgia Veterans and Teamsters Local 728 Team up to Stop Fannie Mae from Evicting Desert Storm Veteran Mark Harris
Wednesday March 13th from 1:00-3pm at Fannie Mae’s SE Regional Office(950 E Paces Ferry Rd, Atlanta) Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and allies plan to creatively protest Fannie Mae’s decision to move forward with the eviction of Desert Storm Veteran Mark Harris.
“We plan to build a mock home in front of Fannie Mae’s HQ to represent the millions of homes Fannie Mae has foreclosed and left empty in our Country. We need solutions, not evictions and foreclosures” said Occupy Homes Organizer Shab Bashiri.
Mark Harris recently took his struggle all the way to DC, where he met with high level Fannie Mae executives who promised to look at creative solutions to keep Mark from becoming another homeless veteran. Since then Fannie Mae has made no real effort to create a deal that keeps Mark in his home, it’s clear that they intend to move forward with eviction, even though Mark has made reasonable offers on the house.
“This marks a critical turning point where worker organizations are taking a stand against the greed of Fannie Mae.” Said Jobs With Justice organizer Roger Sikes.
“ We understand the leading causes of foreclosure are unemployment, and underemployment. We need full and fair employment for our community members and we will to fight to keep workers in their homes. Unions stand with workers inside and outside the workplace.” Said Teamster Organizer Ben Speight.
Mark will be joined by a number of veterans who plan to speak in Support of Mark’s struggle against Fannie Mae. 1/3 of Atlanta's homeless population are veterans, and for every one of them there are six empty homes, many of which are owned by Fannie Mae.
"Fannie Mae wants to kick Mark Harris out of his home and then for an investor, or someone else, reset the mortgage fairly to the current home value. This is an outrage. And this is why we are organizing Fannie Mae residents nationally to demand principal reduction," Rachel LaForest, Homes For All campaign.
During the demonstration Mark Harris plans to deliver a petition that 9k people across the country have sign in support of his struggle.
“As a veteran, I thought the toughest battles were behind me. I never thought I’d be struggling to keep a roof over my head. I fought for this country, so I know I have a right to fight for my home!” States Mark Harris.
This action, one of 11 around the country, is part of the launch for the Homes For All campaign uniting homeowners, renters, public housing residents and those who are homeless to fight for affordable and secure homes.
More on Mark’s story:
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