Edgewood Resident Sherrye Calhoun Wins Back Her Home After Bold Action Taken

Around 8:30 AM on Friday August 5th 2012 Sherrye Calhoun woke to Dekalb County Sheriff’s Deputies knocking on her door. They demanded that she leave her home immediately. Over the course of the morning Sheriff Thomas Brown’s deputies supervised her eviction. They had no dispossessory warrant or writ of possession filed with the court. She has lived in the home for 30 years.

Within hours, Ms. Calhoun’s possessions were moved back into her house with the help of Edgewood residents and supporters. Sherrye Calhoun decided that she wouldn't leave her home regardless of the risk.

Sherrye’s neighbors and community groups including SWARM and Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, and American Friends Service Committee got involved, organizing eviction free cookouts, neighborhood canvassing, marches, call-in days, and direct action. As of last week JP Morgan Chase has decided to turn over the deed to Sherrye Calhoun. Sherrye will no longer have to fear a knock on the door from Sheriff Brown’s officers.All over the country housing justice organizations have been working side by side with struggling residents taking bold creative action to address the cruel irony of a growing homeless population alongside an even larger number of vacant homes. Sherrye Calhoun's story is rare and perhaps precedent setting victory in the South

With a growing homeless population all over the country, and millions of "zombie foreclosures"  the idea of folks building community support and simply marching to a vacant home that was once theirs, pulling the boards off and moving in publicly seems in the realm of possibility. If bold actions were taken in communities all over the country banks would be overwhelmed.

What we need now is to match the banks unprecedented greed and corruption with historic creative people power. 

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

Edgewood: Eviction Free Zone

Today the Edgewood neighborhood was declared an eviction free zone by community members and several organizations doing work around housing issue. What prompted this declaration, besides being under the lash of a historic housing crisis, was particularly cruel eviction that came with no warning at all.

Around 8:30 AM on Friday August 3rd  Sherrye Calhoun woke up to Sheriff’s Deputies knocking on her door. They demanded that she leave her home immediately. Over the course of the morning Sheriff Thomas Brown’s deputies supervised her eviction. They had no warrant or writ of possession. She has lived in the home for 30 years.

            Within hours, Ms. Calhoun’s possessions were moved back into her house with the help of Edgewood residents and supporters. She is currently still residing in that house, determined to resist eviction should it again be attempted.

            That evening, Edgewood residents formed a group, Eviction Free Edgewood (EFE), determined to resist eviction of Edgewood residents. On Sunday, EFE, with Ms. Calhoun, hosted a barbeque to build community resistance. About 100 people were in attendance throughout the day.
 

  Today Sherrye hosted an eviction free cookout that ended up packing her yard with folks that committed to stand with Sherrye should any more crimes (by Sheriff Browns deputies) be committed against her.

Join us at 11:00AM on Monday August 6th at Sherrye’s home, 39 Aberdeen Street Atlanta, GA 30307 to hear Sherrye tell her story alongside neighbors and community members deeply concerned by this eviction, and other housing issues in their community.