Tell her: “My name is __________ I am calling on behalf of Maria Dolores, who lives at 7250 N Claremont. I am calling to ask you to stop all eviction proceedings on her and all families, and to initiate negotiations directly with her.  I vow to support her home occupation and continue protesting, until Fannie Mae gives her back her home.”

The current housing crisis is taking a toll on our families and our communities. Mass displacement due to foreclosures and evictions are being seen and felt by communities across the country. We believe that only a movement of people directly and indirectly affected can stop the crisis. Our goal is simple: Creating a people’s alternative to the current situation by ensuring that the threat of unjust foreclosure and eviction is lifted, that loan modifications promised by banks actually materialize, and by ensuring that the homes of residents and community members are not auctioned off or sold as “investments” – which add to the number of vacant and untended homes we see everyday.

Who We Are: Residents and community members of Rogers Park and other Chicago community areas – families and individuals, workers, taxpayers, consumers.

What We Want: A “People’s Bailout” in the form of a moratorium on all home foreclosures and unjust evictions in our communities. (The banks already got their multi-billion dollar bailout and still failed to work with homeowners in distress.)

Why? Housing is a human right – and is one of the three basic needs (food, clothing, and shelter) required for survival. Vacant and abandoned homes and apartments tear down the community by bringing crime, loss of business, and declining property values. We want to strengthen and unify our communities. We want to reinvest in the people and the economic and social life of our communities. ‘Land belongs to the people’ – Emiliano Zapata

Why now? Vacant houses and condos in Chicago amount to more than 12% of the city’s housing stock (US Census). In 2010, Chicago had more than 10,500 foreclosures and 95% of those remain vacant (Rahm Emanuel, press release, August 2011). This year 2012 is projected to bring thousands more evictions and displaced families. With soaring unemployment and record poverty levels, there is no end in sight for this crisis.

Call bank lawyers Pierce and Associates at 312-346-9088. Dial extension 3, then extension 5. Tell them to work with Maria Dolores Calvillo instead of auctioning off her home. Leave a message if no one picks up. And spread the word with our YouTube video about her fight: