Homelessness Abhors A Vacuum
This is fast becoming a national phenomena. People can sometimes stay up to a year in these vacated homes before they're forced out, and with millions of empty houses why wouldn't the homeless take advantage of that?
More squatters calling foreclosures home
"When the woman who calls herself Queen Omega moved into a three-bedroom Miami house in December, she introduced herself to the neighbors, signed contracts for electricity and water and ordered an Internet connection.
What she did not tell anyone was she had no legal right to be in the home.
Omega, 48, is one of the beneficiaries of the foreclosure crisis. Through a small advocacy group of local volunteers called Take Back the Land, she moved from a friend's couch into a newly empty house that sold just a few years ago for more than $400,000.
Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said about a dozen advocacy groups throughout the country were moving homeless people into vacant homes, some working in secret, others, like Take Back the Land, operating openly.
In addition to squatting, some advocacy groups have organized civil-disobedience actions in which borrowers or renters refuse to leave homes after foreclosure.
Representatives of the groups said they have sometimes received support from neighbors and strapped police departments have not aggressively gone after squatters.
"We're seeing sheriffs' departments who are reluctant to move fast on foreclosures or evictions," said Bill Faith, director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, which is not engaged in squatting. "They're up to their eyeballs in this stuff. Everyone's overwhelmed."
related - More seniors using vehicles as shelter
More squatters calling foreclosures home
"When the woman who calls herself Queen Omega moved into a three-bedroom Miami house in December, she introduced herself to the neighbors, signed contracts for electricity and water and ordered an Internet connection.
What she did not tell anyone was she had no legal right to be in the home.
Omega, 48, is one of the beneficiaries of the foreclosure crisis. Through a small advocacy group of local volunteers called Take Back the Land, she moved from a friend's couch into a newly empty house that sold just a few years ago for more than $400,000.
Michael Stoops, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, said about a dozen advocacy groups throughout the country were moving homeless people into vacant homes, some working in secret, others, like Take Back the Land, operating openly.
In addition to squatting, some advocacy groups have organized civil-disobedience actions in which borrowers or renters refuse to leave homes after foreclosure.
Representatives of the groups said they have sometimes received support from neighbors and strapped police departments have not aggressively gone after squatters.
"We're seeing sheriffs' departments who are reluctant to move fast on foreclosures or evictions," said Bill Faith, director of the Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio, which is not engaged in squatting. "They're up to their eyeballs in this stuff. Everyone's overwhelmed."
related - More seniors using vehicles as shelter
posted by nolocontendere at 8:28 PM
4 Comments:
In addition to squatting, some advocacy groups have organized civil-disobedience actions in which borrowers or renters refuse to leave homes after foreclosure.
More power to them. More power to the people. Screw the almighty landlords! They stole the land to begin with anyhow.
This will become a huge issue soon, nick.
Oh yes it will become a huge issue. People are fed up. People taking the land back after the monetary system has stolen it. I see the monetary system itself coming to a close as people slowly begin to realize every person deserves the very basics of life. There are growing movements afoot of folks seeking to establish such a way of life. So for all of the darkness going on, there is some light, there is resistance to the old broken and corrupt and that gives me hope.
Also love the piece on folks setting up vending carts. Great idea. Mr. N and I will have to discuss that. Dogs and lemonade at the park.
Neener, you know I was thinking the same thing too! Selling dogs and ade in the park, somehow that sounds delightful, sort of like Govinda finally finding deep satisfaction as a simple ferryman in Siddhartha.
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