From HuffingtonPost.com; author: Matt Sledge

MIAMI -- Two years ago the Ramos family moved into a small house in the Little Haiti neighborhood here. They did so without a title, a lease, or permission from the property's owner... "For a time we were basically living in our car or at our friends' houses -- pretty much without a home," Mr. Ramos said.

Many would simply call it squatting. But Take Back the Land, the Miami-based group whose members helped the family move in, calls it a home "liberation."

"Here we have a chance to occupy and liberate: it's a one-two punch and that's what works," said Max Rameau...

The Ramos family would welcome any help it can get. At the mention of the Occupy movement, Mrs. Ramos beams. She doesn't ever want to leave her house, she said, "because as human beings we have the right to live dignified in a home."

The action resulted in the arrest of five members of the organization, the ultimate eviction of the Smedron family and yet another vacant home in the Addison community. Those arrested and sent to Dupage County jail included Toussaint Losier, Jorge Ortiz, Holly Krig, Rory Fanning and Chris Poulos. Charges include Criminal Tresspass and Obstructing a Peace Officer. The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign immediately bailed the five out of jail. Legal represenation for the five was secured by some of the strategic partners of the Take Back the Land- Movement.

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign organization JR Fleming said that the group plans to continue to 'liberate' housing and defend families against eviction in pursuit of the human right to housing.

UPDATE: (12:30PM EST) In a deal worked out with New York state Assemblywoman Annette Robinson, Mary Lee Ward has won a two week stay of eviction while parties negotiate over her ability to stay in the home.

While this IS NOT OVER, it is a huge victory for Ms. Ward, O4O and their allies and the entire fight for the human right to housing.

The message: MASS EVICTION DEFENSE WORKS!

UPDATE 2: The next action is on Monday, August 22 at 12 noon at the offices of the speculator developer who bought the home under the feet of Ms. Ward. The location is 1168 Fulton St. (between Franklin Ave. and Dean St.), offices of Shameen Chowdury. Please come out if you can.

Catherine Lennon- the woman Van Jones called 'the Rosa Parks of the foreclosure crisis'- won a reprieve from eviction due to a recent New York Supreme Court ruling. The ruling stays her eviction, which was set for Wednesday, August 17, 2011, and sets up a court date where Fannie Mae and Bank of America must prove they have the paperwork to evict her in the first place.

After her husband died of cancer, Catherine Lennon and her family had trouble making the mortgage payments and faced foreclosure and eviction. Thats when Take Back the Land- Rochester stepped in and organized an eviction defense with neighbors and affiliated organizations from around the country united to help. The eviction defense worked for two weeks, then Rochester police came with the SWAT team to evict Lennon and arrest seven people, including a 71 year old neighbor and Emily Good.

After weeks living in hotels and the couches of friends and family, Take Back the Land- Rochester moved Lennon back into the same home from which she was evicted. She has been there ever since.

Tavis Smiley and Cornel West kicked off their highly publicized "Poverty Tour" with a visit to Take Back the Land- Madison.

The bus tour, designed to highlight the issue of poverty in the US, has Smiley and West visiting 16 cities and small towns and meeting with organizations, churches and families dealing with issues of poverty.

Smiley and West interviewed M Adams of Take Back the Land- Madison and others, as well as listening to a speak out at foreclosed home.

When Virginia Henry bought her boarded-up and abandoned Rochester, N.Y., home in December 2007, she saw potential where others were blind to it. The house, a short sale, became her home to live in and care for, she said...

But what followed was a series of unanswered calls and letters to Bank of America, Henry says, eventually culminating in her arrest Friday for a charge of trespassing on her own front lawn. The bank has told her that her short sale never closed and that the house at 5 Appleton St. -- with all her worldly possessions trapped inside -- is no longer hers. 

"This is my home," Henry told AOL Real Estate in a phone interview after the arrest. "How can I be trespassing in my own home?"

Protesters Step In

While the facts of the case may be murky, one thing isn't: Henry's plight is a perfect opportunity for Take Back the Land to step in. The group, founded by Miami activist Max Rameau (who's pictured above being arrested there in June 2010) is a small but growing movement that aims to change the way the public views housing. TBTL accomplishes this by taking over government- and bank-owned properties and putting otherwise homeless people in them. And they also fight homeowner evictions, like that of Mrs. Henry and her family of four.

READ THE FULL STORY AT AOL.COM

http://realestate.aol.com/blog/2011/07/22/protesters-liberate-foreclosed-homes/

June 17, 2011- The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign liberated a vacant foreclosed Southside Chicago home to provide housing for a homeless family.

Like many other public housing residents, Martha Biggs and her four children became homeless after the demolition of the Cabrini Green projects. While city officials executed mass evictions of the public housing residents, they did not help most find alternative housing nor did they rebuild enough public housing to meet the growing need. Consequently, many former residents found themselves in and out of homelessness.

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaig co-founder and leader J.R. Fleming said "we decided to play matchmaker and put homeless people into people-less housing." After scouting vacant properties and performing significant repairs, the organization moved Martha and her family into the home. Neighbors were thrilled the home was no longer vacant and spoke on behalf of the family during the press conference.

Photos from embedded photographer at the Sentinel Tribune

Photos from embedded photographer at the Sentinel Tribune

Photos from embedded photographer at the Sentinel Tribune

DONATE TO THE STONY RIDGE 7 LEGAL DEFENSE FUND More News on the Toledo Foreclosure Defense League and the Stony Ridge 7 The Stony Ridge 7 are out of jail and free. After spending 5 days sealed in a foreclosed home in order to resist eviction, Keith Sadler and other members of the Toledo Foreclosure Defense League (TFDL) were raided by the Wood County SWAT team. The team was unable to get through the front door and resorted to entering through a bedroom window. Those arrested include Sadler, Connie Smithengale, 20; Bryer Baumgartner, 19; Nicholas Botek, 23; Jessica Angelov, 20; Daniel Orange, 25; and Johnathan Kutsch, 22. All were charged with criminal trespass and impeding police business, both misdemeanors, and released. Sadler is resting at an undisclosed location and will make public statements on Monday or so. Sadler spoke to members of Take Back the Land on Friday afternoon and was in good spirits. The TFLD made national news with the defense of the Sadler home and inspired families from across the country to contemplate similar acts of defense and resistance. Letters of support poured in from families, individuals and organizations, such as the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (economichumanrights.org)a key part of the growing movement to elevate housing to the level of a human right. The Stony Ridge 7 are represented by local attorney Terry Lodge and legal support for the TFDL and other Take Back the Land affiliated organizations is being provided by the Center for Constitutional Rights (ccrjustice.org). The TFDL is an autonomous organization which is also a part of the Take Back the Land Movement. The action is part of the May 2010 National Month of Action to demand the human right to housing, called for by the Take Back the Land Movement (takebacktheland.org) in conjunction with the Poor People's Economic Human Rights Campaign (PPEHRC- economichumanrights.org). The Take Back the Land Movement is supported by the US Human Rights Network (USHRNetwork.org). The Actions are expected in at least twelve (12) US cities and include housing takeovers and the defense of families facing eviction.