Tuesday, October 13, 2009
MN PPEHRC: Recap of Week of Oct 9th
MN PPEHRC: Recap of Week of Oct 9th
POLITICIANS CONTINUE TO STALL ON HOUSING CRISIS
WE DEMAND AN EMERGENCY MORATORIUM AND WILL LAUNCH A PETITION DRIVE
Where the MN 5 are as of October 9th
Barbara Byrd needing our support in district court coming up a week from Wednesday at 1pm, Oct. 21st
Linda Norenberg waiting to hear about possible offer from her lender
Ann Patterson told by Wells Fargo she must gather documents to prove that
Leslie Parks installing placard in from of her home ticking off foreclosures at 1.5 million estimated by www.responsiblelending.org; with 13 million in next 5 years...Hmmm, what crisis?
Rosemary Williams continuing to inspire others' resistance, welcoming flowers on Clinton Ave. home fence-Leslie has permanent flowers to give those who'd rather not leave fresh flowers to die. Read Rosemary's World Habitat Day comments (see link below).
Thurs. Oct. 8th: MN Clergy and Laity Against Foreclosure and Evictions
meeting at the Mayor's office
Rev. Loren McGrail arranged a meeting with mayor Policy Aide Cara Letofsky who gathered with clergy, the Mpls. Foreclosure project coordinator, and a foreclosure counselor. Rev. McGrail declared the meeting to be the beginning a "relationship" around how to deal with the crisis. Key questions raised were how to get the banks to do right, and how to pay for utilities once landlords bail out if a moratorium were issued. Mark Van Steenwyk will be setting up a Google group for the faith-based initiative.
Tues. Oct. 6th: Northside Community Summit: The housing crisis: What Can We Do?
Sponsored by the Bailout coalition and other groups, some attendees were renters whose voices NEED TO BE HEARD. The main result? "Contact your representatives." Gosh I never thought of that!!
Mon. Oct. 5th in Mpls: Ellison's Forum on the Foreclosure Crisis Identifying Problems and Sharing Solutions
Ellison kept repeating... politicians cannot lead on this-initiatives must come from the people! Leslie Parks and others raised the roof!
Monday, Oct. 5th in DC
Four of the MN Five at U.S. HUD in DC
We picketed outside and then attended sessions in conjunction with Zero Evictions Days and World Habitat Day. Security forces were diverted by Cheri and the MN resisters, but despite the secret service, Rosemary briefly was able to get to the microphone. We were joined by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT), as well as the General Secretary of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), the leading global housing rights coalition, headquartered in Santiago, Chile.
That afternoon Cheri Honkala led our MN/Mississippi/PA contingent to Capitol Hill for sessions with staff at the offices of MN Representatives Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison,Travis Childer (Miss), Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters (CA). They listened and took notes on our stories from THE PEOPLE (they usually hear from lobbyists). Most promising was the response from California legislative assistant Chris Lee who invited us to return to DC for a briefing on the crisis from the perspective of homeowners in foreclosure. Best of all, Ms. Waters' aide offered to help us if Keith Ellison lets us down!
For slides and an account of PPEHRC at World Habitat Day:
http://old.economichumanrights.org/m4ol/dailyreport/labels/International%20Alliance%20of%20Inhabitants.html
For further information
Contact the MN Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign
Cheri Honkala: 267-439-8419 Lynette Malles 651-497-4644
POLITICIANS CONTINUE TO STALL ON HOUSING CRISIS
WE DEMAND AN EMERGENCY MORATORIUM AND WILL LAUNCH A PETITION DRIVE
Where the MN 5 are as of October 9th
Barbara Byrd needing our support in district court coming up a week from Wednesday at 1pm, Oct. 21st
Linda Norenberg waiting to hear about possible offer from her lender
Ann Patterson told by Wells Fargo she must gather documents to prove that
Leslie Parks installing placard in from of her home ticking off foreclosures at 1.5 million estimated by www.responsiblelending.org; with 13 million in next 5 years...Hmmm, what crisis?
Rosemary Williams continuing to inspire others' resistance, welcoming flowers on Clinton Ave. home fence-Leslie has permanent flowers to give those who'd rather not leave fresh flowers to die. Read Rosemary's World Habitat Day comments (see link below).
Thurs. Oct. 8th: MN Clergy and Laity Against Foreclosure and Evictions
meeting at the Mayor's office
Rev. Loren McGrail arranged a meeting with mayor Policy Aide Cara Letofsky who gathered with clergy, the Mpls. Foreclosure project coordinator, and a foreclosure counselor. Rev. McGrail declared the meeting to be the beginning a "relationship" around how to deal with the crisis. Key questions raised were how to get the banks to do right, and how to pay for utilities once landlords bail out if a moratorium were issued. Mark Van Steenwyk will be setting up a Google group for the faith-based initiative.
Tues. Oct. 6th: Northside Community Summit: The housing crisis: What Can We Do?
Sponsored by the Bailout coalition and other groups, some attendees were renters whose voices NEED TO BE HEARD. The main result? "Contact your representatives." Gosh I never thought of that!!
Mon. Oct. 5th in Mpls: Ellison's Forum on the Foreclosure Crisis Identifying Problems and Sharing Solutions
Ellison kept repeating... politicians cannot lead on this-initiatives must come from the people! Leslie Parks and others raised the roof!
Monday, Oct. 5th in DC
Four of the MN Five at U.S. HUD in DC
We picketed outside and then attended sessions in conjunction with Zero Evictions Days and World Habitat Day. Security forces were diverted by Cheri and the MN resisters, but despite the secret service, Rosemary briefly was able to get to the microphone. We were joined by the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH), the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT), as well as the General Secretary of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), the leading global housing rights coalition, headquartered in Santiago, Chile.
That afternoon Cheri Honkala led our MN/Mississippi/PA contingent to Capitol Hill for sessions with staff at the offices of MN Representatives Betty McCollum, Keith Ellison,Travis Childer (Miss), Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters (CA). They listened and took notes on our stories from THE PEOPLE (they usually hear from lobbyists). Most promising was the response from California legislative assistant Chris Lee who invited us to return to DC for a briefing on the crisis from the perspective of homeowners in foreclosure. Best of all, Ms. Waters' aide offered to help us if Keith Ellison lets us down!
For slides and an account of PPEHRC at World Habitat Day:
http://old.economichumanrights.org/m4ol/dailyreport/labels/International%20Alliance%20of%20Inhabitants.html
For further information
Contact the MN Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign
Cheri Honkala: 267-439-8419 Lynette Malles 651-497-4644
Labels: Foreclosure, Linda Norenberg, MN PPEHRC, Rosemary Williams, World Zero Evictions Days 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
PPEHRC disrupts US Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Event in Washington DC in conjuction with World Zero Evictions Days 2009
On the occasion of the UN’s World Habitat Day, poor people in the US are losing their homes at a record pace due to predatory lending and speculation and massive demolition of low cost housing, causing massive homelessness, unjust evictions and displacement across the nation.
“We are losing our homes to predatory lenders and landlords. We have driven all the way from Minneapolis, Mississippi and Pennsylvania to tell President Obama and Congress to restore our homes and stand up for our Right to Housing,” says Rosemary Williams of the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC). “We demand Zero Evictions and a moratorium on foreclosures to save people’s homes.”
“It is hypocritical for the US to host UN World Habitat Day when it is the only major nation that has not ratified the Right to Housing Treaty,” states John Parvensky, President of the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). “With millions of Americans experiencing homelessness each year, it is past time for action to ensure adequate housing for all.” Signed by President Carter in 1978 but never ratified by the US Senate, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which includes the Right to Housing, has been ratified by 159 nations, including the European Union and the G8 nations.
“In Daytona, my family and neighbors face bankruptcy, foreclosure and homelessness within 30 days, while our landlord could walk away scot free with millions of dollars stolen from the tenants and other taxpayers,” says Erica Sipp, Vice President/South of the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT). “We call on HUD and Congress to support legislation and ratify the Treaty to Save Our Homes.” So far, the Obama Administration has not supported a Right of First Purchase sought by NAHT on Capitol Hill to stop the steady loss of affordable housing. More than 400,000 apartments have been lost due to owner or HUD decisions since 1996.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, PPEHRC is a nationwide movement of poor people with 114 chapters that has fought for the rights of homeless people, the poor and people of color in cities across the nation, including “Bushville” encampments at national party conventions in 2004 and 2008 (www.economichumanrights.org.) . NAHT is the only national tenant union in the US, representing 1.7 million lower income families who live in privately-owned, HUD subsidized apartments (www.saveourhomes.org). NCH is the leading advocacy organization for the 3.5 million Americans who are homeless each year (www.nationalhomeless.org)
On Monday, groups were joined by the General Secretary of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), the leading global housing rights coalition, headquartered in Santiago, Chile, which has issued a global call for International Housing Rights Days of Action to coincide with the UN event. (See www.hic-net.org).
“We are losing our homes to predatory lenders and landlords. We have driven all the way from Minneapolis, Mississippi and Pennsylvania to tell President Obama and Congress to restore our homes and stand up for our Right to Housing,” says Rosemary Williams of the Poor Peoples Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC). “We demand Zero Evictions and a moratorium on foreclosures to save people’s homes.”
“It is hypocritical for the US to host UN World Habitat Day when it is the only major nation that has not ratified the Right to Housing Treaty,” states John Parvensky, President of the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH). “With millions of Americans experiencing homelessness each year, it is past time for action to ensure adequate housing for all.” Signed by President Carter in 1978 but never ratified by the US Senate, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, which includes the Right to Housing, has been ratified by 159 nations, including the European Union and the G8 nations.
“In Daytona, my family and neighbors face bankruptcy, foreclosure and homelessness within 30 days, while our landlord could walk away scot free with millions of dollars stolen from the tenants and other taxpayers,” says Erica Sipp, Vice President/South of the National Alliance of HUD Tenants (NAHT). “We call on HUD and Congress to support legislation and ratify the Treaty to Save Our Homes.” So far, the Obama Administration has not supported a Right of First Purchase sought by NAHT on Capitol Hill to stop the steady loss of affordable housing. More than 400,000 apartments have been lost due to owner or HUD decisions since 1996.
Headquartered in Philadelphia, PPEHRC is a nationwide movement of poor people with 114 chapters that has fought for the rights of homeless people, the poor and people of color in cities across the nation, including “Bushville” encampments at national party conventions in 2004 and 2008 (www.economichumanrights.org.) . NAHT is the only national tenant union in the US, representing 1.7 million lower income families who live in privately-owned, HUD subsidized apartments (www.saveourhomes.org). NCH is the leading advocacy organization for the 3.5 million Americans who are homeless each year (www.nationalhomeless.org)
On Monday, groups were joined by the General Secretary of the Habitat International Coalition (HIC), the leading global housing rights coalition, headquartered in Santiago, Chile, which has issued a global call for International Housing Rights Days of Action to coincide with the UN event. (See www.hic-net.org).
Labels: International Alliance of Inhabitants, World Zero Evictions Days 2009
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