When: Tues, Dec 6, 2011, 3:30 p.m.
What: Rally and Press Conference in support of Homeless Families who will be moving into building left vacant after Mortgage Modification denials.
Where: 8730 S. Throop St., Chicago, IL 60620
Four months ago, Cook County Sheriff’s officers evicted Shirley Henderson and her grandchildren at gunpoint from their Dolton, IL home after Accredited Home Lenders foreclosed on her. Since then, she had been homeless, staying with friends and at the local shelter. But on Tuesday she will be unveiling a home she has reclaimed with the help of activists from the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign (CAEC) and Occupy the Hood Chicago (OTHC).
“Why must anyone have to live in a shelter or on the street or in their car, when there are vacant homes or homes that they are currently living in available for them to continue to live in,” asked Shirley Henderson. “What society wants to put their subjects out on the street?”
Located in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, this home was abandoned by its owner in April 2011 after her lender, J.P. Morgan Chase, rejected her applications for a loan modification. Left to be one of Chicago’s more than 174,000 vacant properties, this “walk away” was ransacked by vandals who spray painted graffiti on its walls and stripped its rooms of pipes, sinks, and other fixtures. After getting permission from the owner and support from her neighbors, members of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign and Occupy the Hood have used volunteer labor and donated materials to rehab this building so that it can house Ms. Henderson and two other homeless families.
“In our neighborhoods, too many people are walking away from their homes because Wall Street banks won’t work with them,” explained Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign volunteer Toussaint Losier. “This action is a practical example of how the community can fight back by turning an eyesore into an asset, putting homeless people into peopleless homes.”
Tuesday’s rally is part of the December 6th national Day of Action to Stop and Resist Foreclosures coordinated by Occupy Our Homes in over twenty cities. The goal of this Day of Action is to highlight the way that the foreclosure practices of Wall Street banks have left those in the 99% homeless and their neighborhoods blighted by boarded up, bank-owned buildings. The Chicago Anti-Eviction is a local affiliate of the national Take Back the Land network, which has been helping to lead Occupy Our Homes. With chapters across the country, Occupy the Hood is a grassroots network of activists and organizers seeking to connect disenfranchised people of color with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Henderson will also join members of the CAEC and OTHC at other actions, including a housewarming party for a family that has moved into a bank-owned building in Belmont-Cragin and the board up of a vacant home by elementary school students in the Austin neighborhood.
For more information:
Shirley (English) 312-907-3961
Toussaint (English) 773-287-7228
What: Rally and Press Conference in support of Homeless Families who will be moving into building left vacant after Mortgage Modification denials.
Where: 8730 S. Throop St., Chicago, IL 60620
Four months ago, Cook County Sheriff’s officers evicted Shirley Henderson and her grandchildren at gunpoint from their Dolton, IL home after Accredited Home Lenders foreclosed on her. Since then, she had been homeless, staying with friends and at the local shelter. But on Tuesday she will be unveiling a home she has reclaimed with the help of activists from the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign (CAEC) and Occupy the Hood Chicago (OTHC).
“Why must anyone have to live in a shelter or on the street or in their car, when there are vacant homes or homes that they are currently living in available for them to continue to live in,” asked Shirley Henderson. “What society wants to put their subjects out on the street?”
Located in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, this home was abandoned by its owner in April 2011 after her lender, J.P. Morgan Chase, rejected her applications for a loan modification. Left to be one of Chicago’s more than 174,000 vacant properties, this “walk away” was ransacked by vandals who spray painted graffiti on its walls and stripped its rooms of pipes, sinks, and other fixtures. After getting permission from the owner and support from her neighbors, members of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign and Occupy the Hood have used volunteer labor and donated materials to rehab this building so that it can house Ms. Henderson and two other homeless families.
“In our neighborhoods, too many people are walking away from their homes because Wall Street banks won’t work with them,” explained Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign volunteer Toussaint Losier. “This action is a practical example of how the community can fight back by turning an eyesore into an asset, putting homeless people into peopleless homes.”
Tuesday’s rally is part of the December 6th national Day of Action to Stop and Resist Foreclosures coordinated by Occupy Our Homes in over twenty cities. The goal of this Day of Action is to highlight the way that the foreclosure practices of Wall Street banks have left those in the 99% homeless and their neighborhoods blighted by boarded up, bank-owned buildings. The Chicago Anti-Eviction is a local affiliate of the national Take Back the Land network, which has been helping to lead Occupy Our Homes. With chapters across the country, Occupy the Hood is a grassroots network of activists and organizers seeking to connect disenfranchised people of color with the Occupy Wall Street movement.
Earlier in the day, Ms. Henderson will also join members of the CAEC and OTHC at other actions, including a housewarming party for a family that has moved into a bank-owned building in Belmont-Cragin and the board up of a vacant home by elementary school students in the Austin neighborhood.
For more information:
Shirley (English) 312-907-3961
Toussaint (English) 773-287-7228
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