Occupy Homes MN

URGENT ACTION NEEDED: Stop the Ceballos family's eviction

Posted by Alisha Roopchand · June 19, 2013 8:31 PM

Shortly after JPMorgan Chase offered Sergio Ceballos a chance to submit a loan modification on his family home of 12 years, they sent him a summons to appear in eviction court tomorrow at 8:30 am.

After years of pleading with the bank for a loan modification, Sergio decided to join his neighbors Jaymie Kelly and Paula Medlock in a public campaign against Chase. Finally, after months of campaigning, Sergio achieved the first step in the long process to saving his family home: JPMorgan Chase would give him until June 20th to submit a loan modification so that he and his three kids can stay in the home they grew up in.

But while Chase had Sergio filling out a loan modification, they sent him a summons to appear in eviction court. If this sounds crooked and devious, that may be an understatement considering Chase routinely engages in this practice of deceiving their homeowners. As a matter of fact, Chase is the third highest offender of this practice, better known as dual tracking. They are behind only Bank of America and Wells Fargo.

A similar situation happened to Jaymie who also lives in the Eviction Free Zone (EFZ) in Powderhorn. Despite receiving a letter from Chase stating they would review her case for a modification as well as a letter from the Minnesota Attorney General’s office confirming that Freddie Mac would hold off on moving forward with an eviction, a lawyer representing Freddie Mac pressured her to sign a document stating that she would move out.

This process in which a servicer has you filling out modification paperwork, sending them your bank statements, tax returns, payroll, stubs, etc. while simultaneously processing your foreclosure is so widespread among the banking industry that it has its own name: dual tracking. It traps homeowners in a perpetual state of fear and insecurity with the potential that they could lose their homes at any moment. Even those that are able to avoid eviction are so desperate that they often agree to unjust modifications in exchange for even the slightest bit of housing security.

But to send Sergio an eviction summons while offering him a modification packet is criminal. Now Sergio must appear in eviction court on Thursday morning. “Even as Chase says they are working with us to modify our loan, they are pushing to evict us,” says Sergio.

Stand up to dual tracking and show your support for Sergio and his family by coming to Sergio’s eviction summons tomorrow at 8:30 am. Then call Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, and demand that they call off Sergio’s eviction immediately: 212-270-1111.

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Homeless No More!

Posted by Jessica English · June 07, 2013 12:35 AM · 1 reaction

Dear supporters,

Thanks to all your petition signatures, phone calls, and marching on Wells Fargo, I am finally at a place where the girls and I are able to move into a new apartment!

The abandoned Wells Fargo home we reclaimed became the stability I desperately needed to get back on my feet. People who haven't gone through it don't realize the important things you lose when you become homeless. It's way more than stuff. It's your sense of self, your identity, your neighborhood, your reputation, your community, the story you tell people about yourself, and in my case it was the time I had with my girls.

The girls, the community and I at a housewarming barbecue in February.

This house gave me an immediate neighborhood; incredibly supportive neighbors who gladly welcomed me, my family and my movement; and a chance to make something good happen. Ripping up carpet, cleaning up all the garbage and filth, painting a dingy wall pristine white--these are the kinds of things that knit you back into a life. I began to see how my ravaged life could have something good in it too.

At first you feel alone when you're homeless, like it's only happening to you. But that began to change as I met more people who were struggling and who cared about my struggle. The house became bigger than me. Through community support and positive media coverage, we changed the narrative about what homelessness means--and raised awareness that there are 5 vacant homes for every homeless person in this country. As Wells Fargo sent their management company to illegally board up the home four times, we only grew stronger as hundreds of people came through the house to give a part of their life to it to keep the movement going to end homelessness.

Speaking before a march on Wells Fargo this winter. We marched the garbage they'd left behind right back to the bank.

Now that I'm on my feet again, I want to give that opportunity to more people. So I'm leaving the house in capable hands. Josh and Antoine, who were experiencing housing instability, have been here from the beginning, restoring and protecting what Wells Fargo has tried to board up. They are leading the fight demanding Wells Fargo turn this home over to a nonprofit for use as long-term affordable housing. It's so important for people experiencing homelessness to not be thrown away, to have a place where they're invited to contribute and be part of a community in a way they haven't been.

These courageous people have all fought their own housing injustices--including Antoine, center.

Thank you for being part of the movement that helped me reclaim the story of my life. I've really appreciated seeing all of your signatures and would love to meet you. If you're in the Twin Cities, please come to our meetings Saturdays at noon at the reclaimed home, 3325 2nd Ave S in Minneapolis. You can share this petition with your friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, etc. to spread the word. Finally, your donations will further this work to make it possible for more homeless families to get on their feet in a way that also empowers them and brings our communities together.

This wouldn't be possible without you. Thank you so much for all your support.

Love,

Jessica, Anna, Lily, Ella, and Willow

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Wells Fargo, Don't Evict Our Family

Posted by Arturo Garcia · June 05, 2013 4:08 PM

When my baby girl was born, I realized that she would grow and need space to play and would not have that at our apartment. I sat to talk with my wife and suggested that it would be better to buy a home, and she was thrilled by this idea. It was then that we decided to buy a house. We were shown a home in which we are currently living, the neighbors are very friendly, we are very satisfied living here but now Wells Fargo wants to throw us out.

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