Full Disclosure - I'm a Change.org staffer.
With today's "Occupy Our Homes" kickoff, the Occupy movement has gone from inhabiting the most public of spaces to the most private. They're not taking over just any home, though -- organizers are defending homeowners around the country facing imminent foreclosure.
It's a natural next step for the young but increasingly influential movement. The effort has already been met with great media coverage, and will likely be critical in once again refocusing public conversation on the plight of the 99%. Besides that, there's little question Occupy Our Homes will be successful in saving some homes from foreclosure by exposing the unfair and deceptive banking practices that have driven many homeowners to that point.
But Occupy Our Homes isn't the only avenue for holding banks accountable to homeowners. Dozens of homeowners, their family, and their friends have started petitions on Change.org calling on their banks to treat them fairly and modify their mortgages to allow them to stay in their homes.
One of those homeowners is Monique White, whose story is told by Change.org member Nick Espinosa:
Monique worked for 11 years as youth counselor at a group home to help troubled teens transition back into their communities. In February 2010, the nonprofit shut down due to state budget cuts. Although Monique still has a part-time job at a liquor store where she has worked for the past 8 years, this has not been enough to afford her mortgage payment.
Monique has gone through the process of trying to get a loan modification writing a hardship letter and sending document after document to US Bank, yet they still refused to work with her and have foreclosed on her home.
'A house across the street from mine just sold for $9,500, and the bank would rather kick me out and let the house sit empty than renogotiate my $130,000 mortage. It makes absolutely no sense,' explained Monique.
Sadly, Monique's story is not unique. Lesliane Bouchard, a disabled California schoolteacher, is facing foreclosure by First Mortgage Corporation. Vicky Aase is trying to stop foreclosure on her Los Angeles-area home after being brought to the brink of foreclosure by Bank of America. Liz Wootan, who provides reasonably-priced rental units for middle-class tenants in New York, could lose her rental property. These homeowners have all stood up for themselves using Change.org, and our hope is that many other homeowners begin to use our platform as one more tool at their disposal in their fights to save their homes.
And it can work! Just ask Seattle-area mom Vera Johnson, who managed to stop Bank of America's efforts to foreclose on her home. Sometimes the victories are smaller, but still important. For instance, many homeowners complain that banks frequently lose documents and shuffle them between multiple representatives who often know nothing of the customer's earlier conversations. Through Change.org, numerous homeowners have won the decent treatment and single point of contact they deserve.
Change is possible, and Change.org's tools can make it a little bit easier to win. If you or someone you know is facing foreclosure, consider starting a campaign on Change.org today.
