#D6: RECLAIM OUR HOMES, RECLAIM OUR FUTURE

On Thursday December 6th 2012, communities around the country are turning the spotlight on the crisis that continues to hold our neighborhoods and our economy hostage as part of the Occupy Our Homes movement’s national day of action to Reclaim Our Homes and Reclaim Our Future.

Tomorrow, Occupy activists and housing justice allies are taking action to mark the first anniversary of this movement to defend our homes, hold Wall Street accountable, and affirm the human right to housing.

Actions will be taking place in Atlanta, Minneapolis, Chicago, St. Louis, Denver, Baltimore, Detroit, San Francisco, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Oakland, San Diego, Richmond CA, Lake Worth FL, Greensboro NC, Mendham NJ, and other cities, to be announced.

“Occupy Our Homes began with the simple idea of bringing the bold energy of the Occupy movement into communities facing housing crisis to build power through victories for the 99%,” said Nick Espinosa, an organizer with Minneapolis-based Occupy Homes MN. “Over the last year, we’ve fought back against the banks, stopping evictions and winning homes, churches and community landmarks, while relieving debt and reclaiming land.”

December 6th Actions will vary from community to community, but include:

• Eviction defenses/home occupations
• Reclaiming vacant homes for the homeless
• Establishing foreclosure and eviction-free zones
• Marches and protests at big banks

On December 6, 2011, scores of groups around the country participated in a day of action for housing justice, launching the Occupy Our Homes movement. Since then, homeowners, housing justice activists, homeless advocates, and occupy groups have come together to fight back under the banner of Occupy Our Homes.

“All over the country, activists have declared housing a human right and come together in solidarity,” said Shab Bashiri, an organizer with Occupy Our Homes Atlanta, “We’re occupying our homes to prevent eviction, disrupting foreclosure auctions, restoring vacant homes to community use, and putting the spotlight on the banks that caused this mess in the first place.”

Occupy Our Homes has showed time and again that when people fought for their homes, they could win.

But the fight is far from over. Despite dozens of victories for homeowners around the country, banks are still choosing to foreclose instead of taking payments, refusing to negotiate in good faith with families, still using fraudulent tactics like robo-signing to speed through illegal foreclosures. And bank-owned houses continue to sit empty and untended, destroying property values and pushing more families underwater.

Follow live updates throughout the day on OccupyOurHomes.org, and on Twitter with @OccupyOurHomes and the hashtags #D6 and #occupyhomes.