Conflict with law enforcement has fueled coverage of the Occupy movement over the past seven weeks. However, Occupy Atlanta, which was evicted from its main encampment in late October, has now set up a new encampment outside of a police officer's home in an attempt to help him and his family avoid foreclosure:
Last week, Tawanna Rorey’s husband, a police officer based in Gwinnett County, e-mailed Occupy Atlanta to explain that his home was going to be foreclosed on and his family was in danger of being evicted on Monday. So within a few hours Occupy Atlanta developed an action plan to move to Snellville, Georgia on Monday to stop the foreclosure. At least two dozen protesters encamped on the family’s lawn, to the applause of neighbors and bystanders [...]
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has more:
"This family is the perfect example of the fraud going on in the mortgage and banking industries," said Latron Price, one of Occupy Atlanta's organizers. "We plan to shed light on the foreclosure issue and we look to make a stand here."[...]
"What I envision is a model of protest coming out of this," [Occupy Atlanta protester Tim] Franzen said. "We plan to develop an occupy community in this neighborhood and maybe create something that can be duplicated nationally."
This model of protest can be replicated and it can succeed. In late September, Occupy LA helped a family keep their home in this way. Even before the Occupy movement, a few families were able to use occupation-style protests to fight off foreclosure.
Nothing breeds success like success, so if Occupy Atlanta is able to help the the Roreys keep their home, expect more encampments to follow their example in the near future.