Activists Rally In Center City To Put Home Foreclosures On Hold Indefinitely
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Some neighborhood activists spent part of their Martin Luther King day of service trying to pressure the Philadelphia sheriff's office to put home foreclosures on hold - indefinitely.
Organizer Cheri Honkala, along with supporters and members of 'The Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign' gathered near city hall, facing banker's row:
"Supposedly, tens of millions of dollars have come to Philadelphia, to save people's homes, through housing and urban development."
But, she says it's not helping homeowner's on the brink of losing their properties because of the bureaucracy. Then, they moved further down South Broad Street, to the lobby of the sheriff's office.
The reverend Robert Johnson says his family was evicted illegally from his southwest Philadelphia home:
"If we lived in New Orleans or Haiti, where an act of nature made us homeless, rescue would be on the way. What about those of us who are made homeless through corrupt mortgage companies? Where's our justice?"
For now, sheriff's sales are not happening, anyway.
They're in the midst of a 50-day moratorium, because of a shakeup in the sheriff's office.
It follows a critical audit by the city controller's office, including an ongoing, now forensic audit centering on alleged financial mismanagement.
Reported By Steve Tawa, KYW Newsradio
