Disabled Desert Storm Vet Faces Eviction, Can You Help Stop It?

Dear Friends,

                              Today disabled Desert Storm veteran and 20 year Teamster Mark Harris is in a courtroom getting his final eviction date set. His eviction date will likely be set for November 15th!

          Can you take a few moments today to help Mark keep a roof over his head? Your call could make all the difference!

       Call and/or email:
 Catherine "Candy" Lasher at 404-398-6901 catherine_lasher@fanniemae.com 

 Andrew Wilson at 202-752-5168 Andrew_j_wilson@fanniemae.com . 

Demand that they halt the eviction of Disabled Desert Storm veteran Mark Harris at 1164 Dunwick Drive, Avondale Estates, Georgia. Negotiate a deal that keeps Mark in the home. Georgia doesn't need another empty house, Georgia doesn't need another homeless veteran.

Oh, and please sign the online petition! We're hoping you could forward it out to your friends:)

http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/disable-desert-storm-veteran-needs-help-to-save-his-home

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A personal Message From Mark:

I have worked hard and tried to do the right thing my whole life. I joined the Army in 1982 just out of High School, and served a year in Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm. After transitioning from active duty I got a job with UPS and was proud to join Teamsters Local 728. I purchased my home in 1996 with a VA backed home loan and refinanced it in 2004.

In 2005 I started my own trucking business, and then the economy crashed. I got illnesses related to my time in Desert Storm, and I fell behind on my mortgage.
I’ve been trying to catch up ever since; recently I’ve applied for the HomeSafe program here in Georgia. While my application was being processed my VA benefits kicked in, which meant I could afford to make my payments.

Sadly, as my finances were finally coming together in October 2012, Green Tree Mortgage Servicing foreclosed on my home on behalf of Fannie Mae, despite the fact that I was doing everything I could to catch up and modify my loan.

Fannie Mae auctioned off my home, knowing that HomeSafe was working with me. Now that I am receiving my service connected disability compensation I can make my monthly payments but Fannie Mae wants me out now. All they're willing to offer me is $1500 cash for keys to get out. 

In looking over my assignment documents I’ve also discovered that some of the country’s most famous robo signers signed the mortgage assignment that was used to foreclose on me.
 

Fannie Mae is aggressively moving forward with an eviction, and it could happen as soon as November 15th. 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!

Desert Storm Veteran Faces Eviction, Refuses to Leave

Yesterday Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, Atlanta Jobs with Justice, Teamsters Local 728, AFSC, and other supporters filled Mark Harris yard with a simple message to Fannie Mae, "We are not leaving, make a deal that keeps Mark in this house."  

Desert Storm veteran and retired UPS worker Mark Harris purchased his home in 1996 with a VA backed home loan and refinanced it in 2004.

In 2005 he started a trucking business, and then the economy crashed. His illnesses related to his service  in Desert Storm became an issue, and he fell behind on his mortgage.

He’s been trying to catch up ever since; recently he applied for the HomeSafe program here in Georgia. While his application was being processed his VA benefits kicked in, which meant he could afford to make my payments. Greentree(loan servicer) and Fannie Mae(Loan owner) decided to foreclose despite Mark’s willingness and ability to pay.

Occupy Our Homes Atlanta looked over the assignment documents and discovered that some of the country’s most famous robo signers signed the mortgage assignment that was used to foreclose on Mark.

Mark was a proud active member of the Teamsters Local 728 for over 20 years. When Mark fell on hard times he reached out to his union brothers, and they responded.

Both Occupy Our Homes Atlanta and Teamsters Local 728 are members of Atlanta Jobs With Justice, who has agreed to take on Mark's struggle understanding the relationship between housing justice and labor issues, “Unemployment is the number one contributor to foreclosures and evictions in Georgia.  We need solutions that keep people like Mark in their homes, with access to good jobs, instead of putting more folks out of good jobs and their homes.” Said Atlanta JWJ organize Roger Sikes.

Fannie Mae is aggressively moving forward with an eviction, and it could happen as soon as November 15th. Mark Harris states, “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!”


At AFSC we believe that housing is a human right, and here in Atlanta there are more vacant homes then there are homeless people by 7 to 1. The word homeless and veteran should never be in the same sentence, yet anyone who works with the homeless population knows that veterans make by far the largest block of the homeless population.


We urge Fannie Mae to do the right thing and keep Mark in the house, we know his community doesn't ned another empty house, and the streets of Atlanta don't need another homeless veteran.


AFSC Plans to join other community members next Wednesday in direct action to support Mark Harris at Fannie Mae's South Eastern headquarters. We encourage folks to join us.



Tim Franzen
American Friends Service Committee