A homeless family in MN. needs our help

[Left Coast2020]

Dear Wells Fargo,

My name is Jessica English, and I am a responsible single mother of four, student, writer and dedicated worker. However, like one in four Americans, I earn a poverty wage for my industriousness and hard labor. Over the last two years I was unable to work for poverty wages and continue to afford the average rent for an apartment, transportation, food, or amazing things like medical care (I am sure that your bank employs plenty of people who could do the math).


http://start2.occupyourhomes.org/petitions/wells-fargo-turn-this-vacant-home-over-to-the-community

I'm not sure who is worse: Wells Fargo or B of A. Wells Fargo could fall off the planet for all I care. Just seeing their name again knowing what they do to hard working people makes my blood pressure go up.

[pkdu]

1. This needs a few hundred more Sigs, C'mon DU!.... Nt

[pacalo]

2. I signed the petition.

Signing the petition would add your support in the request for Wells Fargo to turn a vacant foreclosed home, which is currently being used by drug dealers, over to a non-profit organization that would allow a hard-working, poverty-level displaced person to legally move into that home, enhancing its value to the neighborhood.

From the petition:

Due to the negligence of your share holders, financiers, profiteers, and partners, coupled with the predatory nature of your dealings and lack of integrity, thousands of families in Minneapolis have had to leave their homes, communities and schools. Foreclosures not only rob families of their equity, they rob homeowners and neighbors of that which exceeds all monetary value - security, stability and community. Consider the damaging effects of thousands of foreclosures occurring simultaneously, stripping neighborhoods of their value, schools of their funding and leaving vacant homes in the wake. All of these travesties seem to have meant nothing to you in comparison to your bailed out profits.

Therefore, my family and my friends at Occupy Homes Minnesota have come up with the best solution to address Wells Fargo’s bankrupt business practices, the devastation of homelessness, and the blight of vacant homes. The home at 3325 South 2nd Avenue, had been broken into and was being used as a drug/party house. I spoke with the neighbors around the block and told them of a plan to move into the home, fix it up, and contribute (not take away) from the community. They are very supportive and are thrilled, especially after their experience with the last vacant home down the block that had been taken over by drug dealers, who were also using it as a place to house the violence of the sex trade.

We currently live in the home and have fixed it up. Hard work and sacrifice really make a difference. I, therefore, demand that Wells Fargo, in recognition of all that it has already displaced and removed from Minneapolis and in order to restore human decency and begin to repay its societal obligation, start by turning the home over to a non-profit to be used to house a poverty wage earning family, such as my own.

[Mnemosyne]

3. 5434 now. Will try to kick in a.m. for more eyes. K&R nt

[Mnemosyne]

7. 5813 nt

[handmade34]

4. k&r n/t

[Egalitarian Thug]

5. Done. n/t

[Demo_Chris]

6. Signed

[Mnemosyne]

8. Up to 6267! Kick! nt

[Omaha Steve]

9. I clicked sign twice

Nothing happened?

[Mnemosyne]

10. 6826 nt

[Mnemosyne]

14. 6844 now. nt

[DiverDave]

11. Signed it also.

Just commented the positive publicity would be worth millions.

Oh, just 170 more.

[OneGrassRoot]

12. Signed. I've wanted to pose this idea here before...

http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/making-it-home/cheaper-together-how-neighbors-invest-in-community

INVESTING IN COMMUNITY: Cooperative financing and community land trusts keep rents affordable and homeownership within reach.


...A community land trust is one type of “shared equity homeownership,” where the rights, responsibilities, risks, and rewards of ownership are shared between an income-eligible household and an organizational steward. In exchange for the initial subsidy, which allows them to buy the home for a below-market price, owners agree to limits on how much they can sell the house for—balancing asset-building with ongoing affordability.

While most CLTs develop new housing, about a third have buyer’s-choice programs that allow homebuyers to select an existing home to be brought into the land trust. When CLTs sell houses, they retain ownership of the land underneath and give the buyers a 99-year ground lease.

Beyond helping lower-income families become homeowners—and preserving the affordability of these homes for the next generation—the CLT enters into an agreement with homeowners to support their ongoing success. A recent study revealed that during the worst years of the mortgage meltdown, conventional homeowners were 10 times more likely to find themselves in a foreclosure proceeding than CLT homeowners.

Another type of shared equity home-ownership is the limited equity cooperative (LEC). LECs make ownership affordable to lower-income households, who buy shares in land and buildings owned by the cooperative housing corporation and hold a secure lease for a particular unit. The co-op’s members accept restrictions on the resale price of their units, ensuring that the public investment in affordability is maintained.

MORE: http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/making-it-home/cheaper-together-how-neighbors-invest-in-community

[JesterCS]

13. Signed :) n/t

[DiverDave]

15. Lets get this done folks!

147 left, all day on this board and 3 sigs, 2 from here.

Lame