PPEHRC Update on the MN 5 and more

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

Barabara Byrd needing our support in district court coming up a week from Wedneday 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
Leslie Parks installing placard in front of her home ticking off foreclosures at 1.5 million estimated by www.resonsiblelending.org; with 13 million in next 5 years...Hummm, 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 Cheric 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

Tags:

PPEHRC

foreclosures

Rosemary Williams

Housing & Gentrification

MN 5

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