by Juliana Birnbaum Fox
Marilyn Reynolds (speaker), a member of ACORN, announces the foreclosure crisis in East Oakland at a press conference. (photo by Jennifer Salgado)
Oakland members of the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) held a press conference this Thursday to announce plans to address the local effects of the nationwide mortgage meltdown. They called on homeowners and tenants to attend a December 8th Foreclosure Crisis and Solutions Forum, which will discuss possibilities for providing relief to victims of predatory lending and others affected by the growing problem. The forum will be attended by Senator Don Perata and other elected officials and representatives of financial institutions, along with local residents.
“There are communities falling into devastation because of these foreclosures,” said Marilyn Reynolds, a local ACORN member who announced the group’s plan to address the problem. “We ask that banks restructure loans, working with existing borrowers and those in foreclosure.”
Other proposed actions include a temporary stay on foreclosures by lenders and long term, fixed-rate loan modifications that would replace the adjustable rate mortgages linked to the crisis. ACORN is also calling for continued support and resources for targeted outreach in order to educate borrowers and prevent the disaster from worsening.
“Banks could save someone’s credit, livelihood and self esteem by doing something as simple as a stroke of the pen,” Reynolds said. “I’m hoping they will have a heart and restructure these unscrupulous loans.” She expressed frustration at the misconception that the crisis was the fault of uneducated borrowers.
“I know a lot of collegeeducated young people whose credit is ruined and who are going to be without a place to live, or have to go back to live with parents,” she said. “The small print in their loans would be hard for the average lawyer to sort out.”
Dorothy Hicks, a victim of the crisis who is also organizing with ACORN, pointed out that tenants are also feeling the negative impacts of foreclosures. When lenders have foreclosed on the owners of rental units, utilities have been turned off and in some cases tenants have been evicted in violation of the law.
Californians of color are particularly vulnerable to foreclosures. A report released by RealtyTrak showed that five of the top ten cities for foreclosures in the third quarter of 2007 are in California. A previous ACORN study showed that minorities are disproportionately affected by the crisis; for example, higher-income Latino homebuyers were more likely to receive a high-cost loan than low-income whites.
“We must continue to make comprehensive reforms to the sub-prime industry now,” said Leslie Marks, a foreclosure victim and single mother living in Oakland who is among the organizers of the forum.
“We’re calling on people who have been affected by this crisis or know someone who has, and the community as a whole, to attend the December 8 meeting,” Hicks stated. The event will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon at the East Oakland Senior Center at 9255 Edes Avenue. For more information, contact Oakland ACORN at 510-434-3110, ext.235, or at caacornoaro@acorn.org.
