[Street] [Eviction Defense] Updates on CLVU canvassing tomorrow!

Katie Gradowski katie at occupyboston.org
Fri Jan 13 16:17:10 EST 2012


Hey all,

A big round of thanks to everyone who volunteered to go canvassing
tomorrow!   It's going to be a fun day -- the foreclosure hearings this
Wednesday were really amazing, and a further demonstration of why this work
is so important.

I'm sending this to the group of folks who said they were definitely in for
canvassing, as well as the larger group of people (WC, outreach, earlier
anti-foreclosure lists) who might be interested in participating.   For
those who can't go this Saturday but still want to get on board with
anti-foreclosure work, we are also participating in an AUCTION PROTEST this
Tuesday at 1 p.m. (also in Everett).   Facebook event here:
http://on.fb.me/y4kaL1 - please email me with [CLVU] in the header if you
want to get on board with that action.

A quick update on what's going on tomorrow:

1) * *Rideshares and pickups!* * We have a couple of people coming from
Cambridge who need a ride.   We also have one person coming from Cambridge
who volunteered to drive.   IF YOU CAN STILL PROVIDE A RIDE OR STILL NEED
ONE, can you coordinate that on this thread?   (or by phone, off-thread?).
  I think most of us are getting there by public transit - directions
below.

2)  Please try to get there by 10, so we can do a quick debrief + overview
with Dominic before getting started.   There's no prior experience
necessary to go canvassing -- only a general level of friendliness and a
willingness to go knock on doors -- but we will be doing a quick overview
of what CLVU is, what to expect, best practices, etc etc -- so please do
try to be on time!

3)  Please dress warmly - I'm not sure how much territory we'll be
covering, but we'll likely be outside for a good amount of the time.  I
think we'll be a relatively small group, and will probably be going in
pairs or groups of three, so no worries about going solo.

4)  Some people have expressed a desire to tag out early for the visioning
workshop.   I haven't talked to Dominic, but I expect that would be OK --
the end time isn't fixed, it was just a rough estimation on my end.
Obviously there's transit time to consider.

If you have additional questions or need to coordinate in the morning, you
can call me directly at 410-967-5207.

*******************************************************************************************************
Some people have asked "what to expect" and "what kind of preparation do I
need?"

Obviously, going door-to-door to folks who are in the midst of the
foreclosure process is a little bit sensitive!    I've found it to be
incredibly helpful to read through CLVU's material beforehand, just to get
a sense of their organizing framework, goals, etc etc etc.   Among other
things, it's worth noting that they try very hard to avoid a "client" or
"service" relationship with tenants  (and even sort of avoid the term
"tenant") -- the point is not just to connect people with services, but to
create a base of people who will organize themselves, with the impetus for
change coming directly from affected communities.

They are also very firmly grounded in the foreclosure process itself -- the
point is not necessarily to stop foreclosure, but to pressure banks into
accepting principle reduction  (bringing the sale price down to real value)
and working through local lenders (Boston Community Capital, in this case),
who will negotiate with the tenant and in many cases sell the house back at
real value  (which tenants can often afford to pay)  In line with that,
there is a strong push to pressure banks, after foreclosure, to take rent
from owner-occupants, rather than automatically evicting.   What that
means, in practice, is that discussions with individuals who are facing
foreclosure are very much geared towards the process itself -- what stage
they are at in negotiations, loan modifications, principle reduction, etc
etc etc.  That's not to scare anyone away!

It's been my experience, in these meetings, that the focus is often on the
technical aspects of the process  (steering away from discussions of
victimization, predatory lending, noting that many people who have suffered
in the foreclosure crisis have been unfairly targeted, but are obviously
not stupid or unaware of the process)    They're very cognizant, in this
respect, that media reports about the foreclosure crisis tend to assume
that tenants who have been targeted were somehow uninformed or uneducated
about their mortgages -- when, actually, they have just been targeted.   So
that's worth keeping in mind!

I've found it's really helpful, in getting a handle on that, to look over
the resources on this page <http://clvu.org/resources>, and the following
documents, in particular:

http://clvu.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resources/Getting-your-home-back-after-foreclosure.pdf

http://clvu.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resources/Qs-about-principal-reduction-5-11.pdf

http://clvu.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resources/Organizing-a-BTA.pdf

That's a lot of information!   Please feel free to share this with anyone
you think might be interested -- that's mostly to give people a framework
and bit of introduction to CLVU going in, and to assuage any concerns about
going door-to-door, going in blind, etc.

************************************************************************************************************

DRIVING DIRECTIONS:  from "Boston"

http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=boston&daddr=524+Broadway,+Everett,+MA+02149-3738+(Dunkin'+Donuts)&hl=en&ll=42.379344,-71.048241&spn=0.077225,0.154324&sll=42.383972,-71.076994&sspn=0.019305,0.038581&geocode=FZ9WhgIdw7bD-ykbMT0NLWXjiTGg6GIBJL98eA%3BFcEdhwIdys7D-yEjZhg1iJlcHQ&vpsrc=6&dirflg=r&ttype=now&noexp=0&noal=0&sort=def&mra=ls&t=m&z=13&start=0


TRANSIT DIRECTIONS:  from Sullivan Station  (thanks Ren!)

Take the T to Sullivan Station

Take the 109 (Linden Square) bus from Sullivan Station
to the meeting place - get off at the Summer Street stop and then
walk the 200 some odd feet to the intersection of Pleasant and
Broadway, which is where the Dunkin Donuts is.


******************************************************************************************

I think that's it!   Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow!

Best,

Katie
-- 
Due to the present financial situation, the light at the end of the tunnel
will be switched off to save on electrical costs until further notice.
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