América do Norte

Homeowners in Flood Zones Opt to Rebuild, Not Move

Published in Tuesday April 30th, 2013 In In the media

A proposal to buy the damaged homes of New Yorkers who want to relocate after Hurricane Sandy is finding few takers, as most residents opt to rebuild, state officials said on Friday. “It’s up to the homeowner, and the vast bulk of homeowners are deciding to stay right where they are and rebuild,” Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news conference in Albany.

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Criminalization of homelessness – local impact, global issue

Published in Wednesday April 10th, 2013 In Social movement news

As the economic crisis continues at the bottom end of the income spectrum, the past week has brought two victories worth noting, from the most humble of tent encampments to the marble halls of the U.N.’s Palais Wilson in Geneva.

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Security of tenure: collaborate with the debate! Send us documents, articles, reports, information about practices for recognition and promotion of security of tenure for urban poor in your country!

Published in Monday April 1st, 2013

This questionnaire is designed primarily to obtain information for the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing’s ongoing study on security of tenure for urban poor and the most vulnerable, including questions related to informal settlements.

Report: Housing Protections Fall Short for Domestic Violence Survivors

Published in Monday March 25th, 2013

One week after President Obama signed the Violence Against Women Act, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty has released a new report showing that state action is still urgently needed to prevent homelessness for survivors of domestic and sexual violence. In some areas of the country, one in four homeless adults report domestic violence as a cause of their homelessness.There’s No Place Like Home provides a comprehensive examination of the canon of state laws designed to address housing instability for survivors.

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Federal Court Victory for Homeless Advocates in the US

Published in Saturday March 23rd, 2013 In Social movement news

In a ruling issued earlier today in Washington, D.C., a federal court denied the Obama Administration’s motion to set aside a 1993 court order against the federal government requiring compliance with Title V of the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act, a law that gives homeless services providers access to unused federal properties for free.

Lands Commission extends eviction of veterans to June

Published in Tuesday March 19th, 2013 In In the media

The Northern Regional office of the Lands Commission has given retired soldiers and their families occupying the old Kaladan Barracks in Tamale up to June 15 this year to vacate the place. This followed a meeting held at the premises of the commission last Wednesday at the behest of the Board Chairman of the Northern Regional Lands Commission, Alhaji Alhassan Ishmail, to find the best way of evicting the old soldiers and their families without creating much inconvenience and hardship for them.

Threat of Foreclosure on California Homes Disproportionately Affects Minorities

Published in Monday March 18th, 2013 In In the media

An overwhelming majority of homes in California’s major cities that are in danger of foreclosure are also in majority-minority ZIP codes, according to a report released this week. The report focuses particularly on homes with mortgages serviced by Wells Fargo. Of the 21 major California cities examined, more than eight in 10 homes in danger of foreclosure are in areas where at least half of its residents are minorities—evidence, the report’s authors say, that further supports the idea that the housing crisis has been particularly harmful to African-American and Hispanic homeowners.

Homeless at Lakewood’s Tent City will be offered indoor housing instead of evicted

Published in Monday March 18th, 2013 In In the media

An encampment of homeless people in the woods near the Jersey shore will gradually be phased out as its 80 or so occupants are given at least a year of housing under an agreement reached today. The deal would eliminate the need for Lakewood’s so-called Tent City and end a seven-year dispute about local governments’ responsibility to care for the poor.

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A Report on the Foreclosure Crisis California in Crisis: How Wells Fargo’s Foreclosure Pipeline is Damaging Local Communities

Published in Monday March 18th, 2013

Five years after the housing market collapsed, California’s economy remains weak. The unemployment rate is nearly 10 percent, twice what it was in 2006, and in 2012 the State’s underemployment rate averaged an astonishing 19.3 percent. The continuing housing crisis remains a key cause of this widespread economic tragedy. Nearly two million California homeowners are underwater, owing more on their mortgage than their home is worth. This report shows the tremendous damage that will befall California’s communities if the foreclosures continue on so many families.

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Mortgage settlement helps lenders more than homeowners, critics say

Published in Tuesday March 12th, 2013 In In the media

Government-directed settlements with major lenders have provided billions of dollars in relief to struggling homeowners caught up in the “robo-signing” debacle of the financial crisis. But those big mortgage servicers appear to be benefiting as well, getting credit in those settlements for forgiving debt that they likely would never have collected anyway.
The banks, meanwhile, say they are providing meaningful relief to customers through debt forgiveness, modified loans and short sales. But some critics believe lenders are not paying a stiff-enough price for botching millions of foreclosures across the country.