Occupy Homes meeting

A neighborhood assembly emergency meeting, organized by Occupy Homes MN, will be held Saturday, Feb. 9, from 2 until 3:30 p.m. at Green Central Park Community Gym, 3416 4th Ave. S.

Five South Minneapolis homeowners facing foreclosure are refusing to move out, and they are organizing their community into a “Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone.” Gayle Lindsey, a member of the Central community for the past 30 years, faces eviction. Stopping her eviction is the first step toward achieving a victory for dozens of families in a similar situation.

Join us to develop and implement a strategy to demand housing justice in the Powderhorn and Central neighborhoods.

What is the Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone?

The Foreclosure and Eviction Free Zone (FEFZ) project is based on the idea that entire communities need to unite in struggle to solve the housing crisis. Homeowners facing foreclosure pledge to stay in their homes and fight back and support others facing foreclosure and eviction.

Together with family, neighbors and allies, Occupy Homes MN is organizing these communities to stand together to pressure banks to renegotiate mortgages and defy attempts by sheriffs and police to carry out evictions. If a majority of those facing foreclosure publicly resist, it will create a crisis for the 1%, forcing city and state politicians to intervene and push the banks into negotiation.

We started with a list of 200 foreclosed properties in the two neighborhoods and systematically knocked on every door appealing to each person to join the campaign. So far, 50 homeowners have expressed interest in further discussion and three of those: Gayle, Nafeesah and Genet have declared publicly that they are refusing to move out of their homes.

We are confident that more will join the campaign soon. Homeowners are knocking on their neighbors’ doors, appealing for others to stand up with them. Local teachers, neighborhood associations, churches and community groups are getting involved in the struggle for housing justice. OH hopes to bring together a powerful community-led coalition that can challenge the banks that refuse to negotiate with our neighbors and the city officials who use public resources to enforce unjust foreclosures and evictions.

There are three basic demands for the FEFZ:

A Moratorium: All foreclosures must be halted until a just negotiation that keeps families in their homes is achieved.

Principal Reduction: Homeowners in the two FEFZ neighborhoods have more than $52 million in negative equity that is owed to Wall Street investors and the big banks. This negative equity should be eliminated, and the principal on all the mortgages should be reduced to today’s market value.

Stop Evictions: Police and other public resources should not be used to carry out evictions or any other dirty business for the big banks.

Defend Gayle Lindsey! Housing Justice for the Southside!