Update | By Martin Michaels
On Wednesday, members of Occupy Homes Minnesota and the American Indian Movement met with Woodlands Bank President Ken Villebro in an attempt to end a foreclosure action on Anita Reyes-Lerey’s home. Bank representatives refused to end the foreclosure action, offering a one-year, non-renewable rental agreement instead.
Reyes-Lerey, has lived in her South Minneapolis home for 17 years but now faces eviction because of three missed mortgage payments. Her case has elicited a strong national response as more than 100,000 online supporters urged the bank to renegotiate the terms of Anita’s mortgage, allowing her to stay in her home. Despite the recent defeat, Reyes’ and her supporters vow to carry on their fight for housing justice.
(MintPress) — Occupy Homes Minnesota, a small group of dedicated local activists, continues its struggle to prevent banks from foreclosing on homes in impoverished neighborhoods. The group has spearheaded a growing national movement to confront bank foreclosures with direct community action including sit-ins, demonstrations and petitions. The group has organized community members and activists, successfully stopping the foreclosure of six homes, two in the last week.
On Wednesday, the group joined with the American Indian Movement to hold a public demonstration on behalf of Anita Reyes-Lerey, a resident of South Minneapolis in danger of losing her home to foreclosure. Dozens marched to the Woodlands National Bank where they delivered more than 100,000 petition signatures calling for the bank to stop foreclosure on Reyes-Lerey’s home.
Home foreclosure is a problem that continues to affect millions across the U.S., still reeling from the subprime mortgage crisis in 2008 and continued uncompromising bank policies. As the problem becomes more acute, community organizations are working to form a coalition to keep vulnerable Americans in their homes by resisting foreclosures and punitive bank policies.
Community action
After delivering the petition signatures to a branch of the Woodlands National Bank in Minneapolis, protesters gained their long sought after meeting with bank officials, who agreed to meet next week in a face-to-face meeting to discuss Reyes-Lerey’s situation.
Previously, members of Occupy Homes and the American Indian Movement claim that bank officials, including the bank’s vice president, Cindy Koonce, have refused to discuss renegotiating the terms of Reyes-Lerey’s mortgage.
The struggle is an uphill battle according to Chris Gray, a member of Occupy Homes advocating on behalf of Reyes-Lerey. “It is very difficult to stop a foreclosure process once it is started. Banks usually don’t respond, they don’t want to speak with a homeowner because they already have control of the property,” said Gray in a statement to MintPress.
Gray, like many involved in the case, is optimistic that sustained public pressure can change bank policies. “We have been successful in using social media outreach campaigns, including online petitions to pressure banks previously,” said Gray.
Reyes-Lerey wrote on the Occupy Homes website that by refusing to leave the home she has lived in for 17 years, “She is standing up for herself, her family, and her community.”
Reyes-Lerey, who is Ojibwe Native American, was served an eviction notice earlier this summer when she had missed payment on her mortgage. She has been suffering from a debilitating case of vertigo which has prevented her from working for the past several months.
As a result, she reportedly missed three payments, owing the bank $1,800. Although Reyes-Lerey now has the money to make her previous payment and to continue future payments, bank officials contend there is nothing that can be done to change the foreclosure action.
On June 19, the sheriff posted a 24-hour eviction notice on Reyes-Lerey’s home. However, the action was never carried out because of a sustained occupation of the South Minneapolis home by friends, activists and community members.
Reyes notes that her situation is not unlike that of many other Native Americans. Although American Indians make up just 1 percent of Minnesota’s population, 11 percent of the homeless population is American Indians.
Despite all the turmoil, Reyes-Lerey remains hopeful, writing in her petition, “With the support of my neighbors and community, I know Woodlands National Bank will negotiate with me, and become part of the solution to the housing crisis we face.”
Her situation has gained national attention through an online petition at change.org, a website where activists and community members can create petitions for various political and social causes. Thus far, more than 100,000 people have signed the petition, calling for the bank to renegotiate the terms of the mortgage.
Bank response and city mediation
When contacted for an interview, bank representative Joanne Whiterabbit said that Woodlands Bank “welcomes opening a dialogue with Ms. Reyes,” and “hopes to resolve this issue,” in a MintPress statement.
Previous to today, Whiterabbit claims, Reyes nor the American Indian Movement had reached out to establish a time and place to meet for discussing this issue. Two weeks ago around a dozen people arrived at the bank in Onamia, Minn. for an impromptu discussion with bank officials. Whiterabbit claims that this was unsuccessful because the bank president and those employees handling the case were away from the bank at the time of their unannounced visit.
The bank insists that the foreclosure process is complete and irreversible. However, bank representatives have said Reyes-Lerey can rent her current home on a month-to-month one year lease. At the end of the year lease Reyes-Lerey would have to leave her home without the possibility of continuing to rent. The proposal also stipulates that Woodlands Bank can remove Reyes-Lerey from her home at any time during the one-year rental period.
This offer has been rejected by Reyes-Lerey, who says that she now has the money for the previous payment and should be able to live in her home under a renegotiated mortgage.
Whiterabbit also expressed optimism that Councilman Gary Schiff, representing Minneapolis’ 9th Ward, can serve as a mediator between Reyes-Lerey, her supporters and the Woodlands Bank.
Councilman Gary Schiff could not be reached for comment on the case.
Building a national movement
Occupy Homes Minnesota has, by some accounts, led the growing national movement to keep people in their homes by building community and resisting bank foreclosure. While dozens rallied to draw public support for the cause on Wednesday, community leaders from more than 20 U.S. cities met this week in North Minneapolis to discuss tactics for resisting foreclosure.
Indeed, the problem is not an isolated one as RealtyTrac, an online site recording national foreclosure rates, indicates that there are nearly 1.5 million foreclosed homes in the U.S. In California, the state hit the hardest by the foreclosure crisis, 47,490 housing units were foreclosed upon in June.
On Monday, activists and community members in California began a round-the-clock vigil outside Gov. Jerry Brown’s Sacramento residence. There is no announced end time for the action. However, community foreclosure groups are demanding an immediate moratorium on all California home foreclosures.
Nearly 2 million California homeowners have been foreclosed on since 2008, adding thousands to the state’s homeless population.
Chris Gray, an Occupy Homes activist, believes that Reyes-Lerey’s case and the work of community members in Minneapolis is necessary in building a national movement.
“We are hoping more homeowners will choose to not to leave their homes during the foreclosure process. We hope to build a broader movement where communities can assert control over the foreclosure process,” Gray told MintPress.