[Street] [Outreach] anti-foreclosure actions + organizer training!
Katie Gradowski
katie at occupyboston.org
Thu Jan 26 12:23:54 EST 2012
Hey all!
As many of you know, Occupy Boston has jumped onto the anti-foreclosure
train big time since the eviction, pairing up with City Life / Vida Urbana
and the Northside Bank Tenants Association to mobilize around foreclosure
and eviction defense in the greater Boston area.
There are THREE events coming up this weekend! (leading up to a rally and
march on Monday) I'll be sending along another email about the rally
-- in the meantime, if you know anyone who might want to participate,
please send this information their way!
Many people on these lists have experienced foreclosure first-hand and know
that it's an incredibly stressful thing to go through. At the moment,
there are thousands of people across the state of Massachusetts who are
mobilizing to keep their homes, who are *not* moving, who refuse to be
intimidated, and who are demanding that banks be held accountable for the
billions of dollars in negative equity caused in the financial crisis. No
one has to go through it alone!
This is absolutely at the heart of why we protest -- please come out and
join us!
************************************************************************************************************************
*Saturday, January 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.*
*Anti-foreclosure canvassing in Revere
Dunkin Donuts, 145 Broadway, Revere, MA 21510*
This weekend Occupy Boston will team up with the North Side Bank Tenants
Association for an outreach canvass in Revere, going door-to-door to homes
facing foreclosure to connect residents with a wider network of people in
Boston fighting to keep their homes. Please join us! We have a long list,
and need all the help we can get! This is the nuts and bolts of eviction
defense work -- earlier this month we canvassed over 50 homes in Everett,
including one family that had no idea their house was in foreclosure. The
more people we have, the more homes we can reach.
IF YOU NEED A RIDE OR CAN PROVIDE ONE, email katie at occupyboston.org, or
call 410-967-5207. Meet up at Dunkin Donuts at 10 for a light breakfast and
training, and then we'll go out and start knocking on doors! For details
or to rsvp, go to: http://www.facebook.com/events/194607813971825/
*Sunday, January 29, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Occupy our Homes: Organizer Training with City Life / Vida Urbana
(followed by an underwater puppet-making session!)*
Over the past four years, City Life / Vida Urbana and the Northside BTA has
launched a successful anti-foreclosure campaign in Boston, combining direct
action, legal assistance and alternative financing to pressure banks to
accept rent from former homeowners and renegotiate underwater loans down to
their real market value. To date, they have successfully kept 95% of
their members in their homes, and are part of a swiftly growing movement to
hold Wall Street banks accountable for their role in the mortgage crisis.
This Sunday, there will be an open meeting with OB and OWS to discuss
organizing within home defense campaigns – an informal gathering to talk
about tactics and strategies, basebulding, and how to reach out to the
wider community,. We will also be making puppets and props in preparation
for Monday's rally! All are welcome – we hope you can make it out!
Training is at 1 p.m. - puppets and props will kick off around 2 p.m.
RSVPs are appreciated but not required – email katie at occupyboston.org for
more details, or visit http://on.fb.me/xWiAAk
*Monday, January 30, Noon to 1:30 pm
Underwater March and Rally (with CLVU, Chelsea Collaborative, Occupy Wall
Street and MassUniting) *
*Chase Bank, 50 Rowes Wharf -- **Bring swimsuits!*
25% of mortgages nationally are underwater. This means that the amount
owed on the mortgage exceeds the value of the house. In this situation a
homeowner can make years of payments without ever owning anything. Wall
Street Banks profited from a housing bubble that left millions with
underwater loans, then received trillions in taxpayer bailouts – yet they
still want to keep homeowners on the hook for wildly inflated prices. On
Monday at noon, join us for a march against Wall Street banks to demand
principal reduction for underwater mortgages!
***PARTICIPANTS ARE ENCOURAGED TO BRING SWIMWEAR, FLIPPERS, GOGGLES, AND
UNDERWATER GEAR*** March will start at Chase Bank, 50 Rowes Wharf,
continue past Fannie Mae, and end at Bank of America, 100 Federal Place.
Details here: http://on.fb.me/xJwmkV (more information forthcoming)
*********************************************************************************************
For details or questions, please email Katie Gradowski (
katie at occupyboston.org) or David Lamoso (davidlamoso16 at gmail.com) ---
or call me directly with any questions! I'm at 410-967-5207.
Many thanks to everyone who came out for the auction protest this week ---
it was an amazing day, a testament to what you can do with people power!
For those who missed it, don't worry -- there will be many more. In the
meantime, a video! http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2819681525788
Look forward to seeing you this weekend!
All best,
Katie
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