Taking
Back Homes from the Banks: Exercising the Human Right to
Housing
18 May 2010By Bill
Quigley
May has seen an upsurge in local organizations
exercising their human rights to housing. Most people
recognize that international human rights guarantee
all humans a right to housing. With the millions of
homeless living in our communities and the millions of
empty foreclosed houses all across our communities,
groups have decided to put them together.
Organizations across the US are engaging in “housing
liberation” and “housing defense” to exercise their
human rights to housing. Here are a few examples.
Madison
In Madison Wisconsin, the grass-roots organization
Operation Welcome Home helped Desiree Wilson, 24, a
mother with small children to move into a vacant
house, hook up utilities and change the locks,
according to nbc15.com in Madison. The home was vacant
due to foreclosure. Bank of America owns the home now.
“It’s not against the law, “said Ms. Wilson. “This is
above the law. It’s just so much bigger than me.
Housing is a human right.”
Operation Welcome Home held a press conference
criticizing the billions of dollars in bailouts to
mortgage lenders. “We’re asking them to turn over the
property to the community whose tax dollars are
funding what they are doing.” One of the spokespersons
for the group, Z!Haukness, reminded people that
“housing is a human right, no matter what income, no
matter what rental history.” The group plans more
“liberations” of other vacant property.
A local land trust, Madison Area Community Land Trust,
says if the activists convince the bank to donate the
home the trust can find the resources to turn it into
affordable housing. Taking over the vacant foreclosed
property is “a brave move” says Michael Carlson of the
Madison trust. Carlson told the Madison Cap Times
“They’re compelling the citizens of Dane County to
confront the very real contradictions in the way we
provide housing – massive surpluses in the market that
led to a collapse in credit and simultaneously people
without shelter and permanent affordable housing.”
Toledo
A Toledo, Ohio, factory worker, Keith Sadler lost his
home of 20 years at a foreclosure sale for $33,000.
When it came time to be evicted, Keith had had enough.
According to the toledoblade.com, he and 6 friends
barricaded the house up to resist the foreclosure
eviction. All were all members of the Toledo
Foreclosure Defense League. After 5 days the house was
raided by the local SWAT team and all were arrested on
misdemeanor charges and released.
Portland
In Portland, Oregon, a local group, Right 2 Survive,
seized control of vacant land in front of an abandoned
school. They set up tents for the un-housed. “This is
a celebration because we are taking our rights back, “
Julie McCurdy told Take Back the Land. “What we’re
doing is coming up with the solutions tailored for our
community. We are tired of waiting for city hall to
come up with revised plans and rehashed ordinances
that do not meet the needs of un-housed Portlanders.”
Sacramento, Philadelphia, Chicago,
Atlanta
A faith-based group has been moving families into
vacant homes in Sacramento. The Poor People’s Economic
Human Rights Campaign moved a family into a vacant
home in Philadelphia. The Chicago Anti-eviction
Campaign marched to protect a family from eviction and
the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement protested auctions
of family homes on the county courthouse steps of
Atlanta. Other community actions across the country
are expected during the rest of May.
Housing as a Human Right
Housing is a human right recognized by a number of
international human rights laws. For example, the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted after
the Second World War, promised “Everyone has the right
to a standard of living adequate for the health and
well-being of himself and his family, including food,
clothing, housing and medical care and necessary
social services, and the right to security in the
event of unemployment, sickness, disability,
widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood.”
Still, the National Coalition for the Homeless
estimates of the number of homeless people in the US
range from 1.6 to 3.5 million.
Foreclosures are soaring. Some housing experts say 4
million foreclosures are possible in 2010. There were
3.4 million homes which got foreclosure notices,
auction sale notices or bank repossessions in 2009. In
the first quarter of 2010, RealtyTrac reported there
were 932,000 foreclosures. Auctions were scheduled on
369,000 homes in the same time. Banks repossessed
257,000 homes during that time
Organizations working to exercise peoples’ human
rights to housing include Take Back the Land and the
US Human Rights Network. Both are working with local
community organizations to support their campaigns.
Bill Quigley. Bill
is Legal Director of the Center for Constitutional
Rights and a Professor of Law at Loyola University New
Orleans. His email is quigley77@gmail.com
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