Hey all!<div><br></div><div>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. </div>
<div><br></div><div>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! </div>
<div><br></div><div>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! </div>
<div><br></div><div>This is absolutely at the heart of why we protest -- please come out and join us!</div><div><br></div><div>************************************************************************************************************************</div>
<div><div><br></div><div><p style="margin-bottom:0in"><b style>Saturday, January 28, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.</b></p><b style>Anti-foreclosure canvassing in Revere<br>Dunkin Donuts, 145 Broadway, Revere, MA 21510</b><br style><br style>
<span style>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. </span><span style>Please join us! We have a long list, and need all the help we can get! </span><span style>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. </span></div>
<div><br style><span style>IF YOU NEED A RIDE OR CAN PROVIDE ONE, email </span><a href="mailto:katie@occupyboston.org" target="_blank" style>katie@occupyboston.org</a><span style>, or call </span><a href="tel:410-967-5207" value="+14109675207" target="_blank" style>410-967-5207</a><span style>. 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: </span>
<a href="http://www.facebook.com/events/194607813971825/">http://www.facebook.com/events/194607813971825/</a> <br style><br><br style><b style>Sunday, January 29, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.<br>Occupy our Homes: Organizer Training with City Life / Vida Urbana<br>
(followed by an underwater puppet-making session!)</b><br style><br style><span style>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. </span></div>
<div><br style><span style>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 </span><a href="mailto:katie@occupyboston.org" target="_blank" style>katie@occupyboston.org</a><span style> for more details, or visit </span><a href="http://on.fb.me/xWiAAk" target="_blank" style>http://on.fb.me/xWiAAk</a><br style>
<br><br style><b style>Monday, January 30, Noon to 1:30 pm<br>Underwater March and Rally (with CLVU, Chelsea Collaborative, Occupy Wall Street and MassUniting) </b><div style><b>Chase Bank, 50 Rowes Wharf -- </b><b>Bring swimsuits!</b></div>
<div style><br>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!</div>
<div style><br></div><div style> ***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: <a href="http://on.fb.me/xJwmkV" target="_blank" style="color:rgb(17,85,204)">http://on.fb.me/xJwmkV</a> (more information forthcoming)<br>
</div></div><div style><br></div><div style>*********************************************************************************************</div><div style><br></div><div style>For details or questions, please email Katie Gradowski (<a href="mailto:katie@occupyboston.org">katie@occupyboston.org</a>) or David Lamoso (<a href="mailto:davidlamoso16@gmail.com">davidlamoso16@gmail.com</a>) --- or call me directly with any questions! I'm at 410-967-5207. </div>
<div style><br></div><div style>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! <a href="http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2819681525788" style="background-color:transparent">http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=2819681525788</a></div>
<div style><br></div><div style>Look forward to seeing you this weekend!</div><div style><br></div><div style>All best,</div><div style><br></div><div style>Katie</div>
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