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Sam Lewis
Natasha Glasgow, 30, her husband Alfredo Carrasquillo, 27, and children Alfredo, Jr., 5, and Tanisha, 9, will have a new home Tuesday if "Occupy" protesters and housing activists succeed in forcing their way into a vacant foreclosed home in Brooklyn.
A New York family with two children that has been living on and off in shelters for more than a decade will move into a new home on Tuesday, say housing activists and ‘Occupy’ protesters who intend to force their way into a foreclosed house in Brooklyn later in the day.
"We are going to liberate the house,” said Sean Barry, of VOCAL-NY, which has been working to prevent homelessness for 10,000 low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and their families. "We want to make a public stance … for people to take sides."
The home that protesters aim to give to the Glasgow family -- which is not affected by HIV/AIDS – is in Brooklyn's East New York neighborhood, which has foreclosure and underwater rates that are nearly three times greater than that of New York state, Barry said, citing data from the housing and property database ListSource.
The move-in is part of a national day of action coordinated by the 'Occupy' movement and housing activists in some 25 cities and towns, such as Petaluma, Calif., Southgate, Mich., Atlanta and Denver.
Activists and protesters plan to march to the Brooklyn home, where they will hold a housewarming party for them -- mother Natasha, 30, father Alfredo Carrasquillo, 27, and children Alfredo, Jr., 5, and Tanisha, 9 -- and then begin renovations. Carrasquillo is a community organizer at VOCAL-NY.
Rob Robinson of Take Back the Land, a national network of organizations focused on housing rights and securing community control over land, said the protesters plan to resist any efforts by authorities to remove the family from the home in a low-income neighborhood that's home to mostly African-Americans and Latinos.
"I am going to put up a real defense," said Robinson, who will serve as the police negotiator. "Until a judge tells us we have to leave, we're not leaving that house, so the family is in that house to stay. We're not ... disruptive, we do nonviolent civil disobedience. We call it positive action."
The 'Occupy' movement served as an inspiration for housing activists, who have been trying to help homeowners facing foreclosure keep their residences.
"Like September 17, when Occupy Wall Street started, people looked at it and there was this real question, 'Is this going to last? how is it going to grow?' and one of the reasons it grew is that as people stayed down at Zuccotti Park ... other people were inspired to take action," said Matt Browner Hamlin, an activist with occupyourhomes.org. "This is not something (where) ... we want a family to have a home for a day, we want them to have that home for a lifetime."
And for 'Occupy,' the initiative gives them a new focus after the dismantling of many of their encampments nationwide.
"It’s part of a national day of action that we hope will kick off a wave of defenses and home reoccupations,” Max Berger, 26, told the Occupy Wall Street General Assembly late last week while requesting $6,400 in funding to buy tools for the project. "This is not just about one event; this is a huge frontier for us. We can do these kinds of actions all the time, and we should. And it doesn’t have to be just us. We got to do this one right so we can inspire people to do it theirselves.”
Click here for all the posts on this developing story.
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Why have they been living in homeless shelters for TEN YEARS but have two kids UNDER TEN?
And before anyone starts calling me teabagger or any other good stuff...I'm a liberal Democrat but I mean damn, those who help themselves deserve to be helped...
In the U.S. the work of others pays well if you just hold out your hand and take everything you can reach.
Did you also notice that they are not married? Being a "single" mom pays more.
It is official. OWS has been declared brain dead. City officials will pull the plug in the morning.
Single motherhood matters not to me. I was a "technical" single mother for 11 years - I am NOW married to my daughter's father (and we were together that entire time, living in the same place, both working and paying for our own EVERYTHING)...so a single mother doesn't phase me but homeless folks who have been living off the system for more than a decade and bringing children into a world they can't afford to navigate sticks in my crawl.
JS, Baltimore, I completely agree. How about instead of finding them a home you find them some jobs. 10 years in a homeless shelter is quite a long time. Maybe teach them some birth control too. If you're living in a homeless shelter and can't support yourself, maybe having kids is something that should be prevented. I would think after 10 years they could put some money aside and maybe pay for their own housing like all of us HARD WORKING Americans!!!!!
Your tax dollars hard at work supporting these lowlives.
Its really disgusting. There are legitimately "down on their luck" folks in this country who once had jobs and homes and worked hard and thru no fault of their own, lost what they had...those people deserve help. People who have been scamming the system for a decade or more don't deserve to fall into the "cushy life". Its sickening.
just part of the whole OWS Mantra of greed
i find it hilarious how they protest against corporate greed but busting in and taking over a house is not considered greedy
the irony
I would like to know what happened to the previous occupants who were forced out of this home due to foreclosure by the bank. If they themselves became homeless what right does this 'homeless' family have to move in and occupy this house? Sounds like BS to me..
This is just so wrong on SO many levels. This is stealing, not "liberating", and I would be thoroughly pissed off if I had a house up for rent or sale and some squatters decided to take it away from me. It is NOT fair, and it is sick and wrong for the Occupiers to advocate outright theft like this. How would they like it if someone came and occupied THEIR home while they were out camping on public property and tearing down society? Bet they'd be mad if the cops didn't do anything, and yet that's what they're expecting in this case!
JS, as much as I support some type of change, I had the same question. Throwing this family into a home is not going to solve problems that existed prior to the economic downturn. They apprently have other issues and need to be counseled and trained on living independently. Plus, they will be forced to move out as it is trespassing and they have no right to the home. I did not think the movement was about theft, but rethinking how corporations need to be part of our society while we take personal responsibility.
I suppose I am old fashioned and did not realize it!
Remember as a "White" person in this country you are FORBIDDEN to judge a person of "Color". Whites are only permitted to give (Liberal definition: Help) these people and also be the "Tax Base" to keep this insane social contract going.
FACT: 75% of BLACK Children are born out of wed-lock with only Mothers and virtually no father figures! Yea I know it's George Bush's fault....
That house will be destroyed within a matter of months....
Thank a Liberal today for this MESS!
Why does the photo caption say they are married...
"Natasha Glasgow, 30, her husband Alfredo Carrasquillo, 27"
But the rest of the article refers to them by the Mothers last name?
"that protesters aim to give to the Glasgow family.... will hold a housewarming party for the Glasgows"
Is the photo-caption just a lie to make them seem less opportunistic? or is the "husband" a wanted criminal? I've never heard of a family with both original parents using the mothers maiden name for everyone except the father.
Just a note- they are married.
I am married but kept my own last name.
My wife's parents both had the same last name.
This is why the Occupy Movement will fail. They have no qualms about breaking the law for a cause that even they aren't sure is. Protesting is one thing but they will not win any battle this way.
They've probably already been arrested for trespassing, breaking and entering and resisting arrest.
You can collapse my comment now, Libby's.
I don't think even the most die-hard, bleeding heart of liberalces could defend these pathetic fools...
What really bothers me is we've raised a generation of people that "want", but don't have any concept on how to "achieve". Personally, I think it's an indictment of our education system. We may be teaching math and English now, but it doesn't look like we are teaching life skills such as the basics on personal finance.
Wrong thing to do on every level. Why not move the people back in that owned the house? Why not supply homeless folks with free birth control? How will they pay electric, gas, food, and maintenance bills for this house? I'm with the poster that suggested finding them jobs, then worry about a roof over their heads. It's a shame that "occupy" decided to experiment by using a homeless family to try and make a point. This idea is DOA.
I agree, Ron. In our efforts to make everyone an intellectual who strives for college (a great goal, to be sure), and rail against traditional gender roles, we've completely disregarded other import life skills training that used to be prevalent in schools. What ever happened to shop class and home economics?
We used to teach students how to be carpenters, plumbers, mechanics, etc. but somewhere along the way we have devalued those careers paths in favor of office careers. Now, not only are their fewer quality tradesmen and women, but no one knows how to do their own handy work anymore.
We used to teach students how to cook and sew, but now we don't because it doesn't look good on college apps and a wave of misguided feminism felt it was deflating to young girls. Now people don't know how to cook to feed their family healthy meals on a budget or sew to fix good quality clothes instead of buying junk from Wal-Mart.
These classes also taught people how to draw up a household budget and stick to it (with their new life skills, of course). I wish I had the opportunity to take both shop and home economics in high school.
Thats what I was thinking too as I read the story, "They've lived in homeless shelters for TEN YEARS????" Dont get me wrong, I once stayed in a homeless shelter, The SAMM shelter in dwntwn San Antonio, my mother had me and my three siblings and they took us in BUT we were there for at most two weeks before my mother found a more stable apartment for us. And we had no father figure. The moment we walked into the shelter, caseworkers started helping my mother right away to get us out of there and I honestly cant believe a family could live in a shelter for TEN FRICKING YEARS!!!! If the husband had a job(I also cant believe he could be unemployed for ten years unless he was actively NOT looking for a job) and they put away a little each month, they could have quite a bit for a down payment for a house by now, you know, after TEN YEARS of living in a shelter and not paying some type of rent. Egads! Im just utterly dumbstruck at this whole story! And lets not even get into the whole breaking into properties and living in them illegally. The mother said she isnt concerned for her children for what she is about to put them through, and it just goes to show her naivety.
I find it patently absurd that there are empty houses and homeless people. It's as if the banking system is designed to be cruel. There needs to always be a loser in capitalism. If the supply exceeds the demand then the prices plummet. So there is the necessity to kick people out of houses, destroy some houses then the prices will rise agian along with the homeless rates.
Ron and PH, you left out another important point. The place where responsibility needs to be taught starts with the parents. For many of these children, they are behind the 8-ball before they even have a chance at an education.
OWS is not only breaking the law but who is going to support any families that are put into homes? Will the families have a shelter to go back to when they are evicted from this home? What kind of trauma will the children face when they are put out on the street again? Big mistake OWS! You used down and out folks without thinking beyond the next few days or weeks.
So they did thier own B&E,and they're proud of it...(door locked or not)....and the people who worked hard to own this home originally are out on the street,or homeless by virtue of the economy,and probably no fault of thier own....So now the mortgage company who owns it should press charges and evict all of the criminals who unlawfully entered the property.WHY are the cops standing by and doing nothing....(as reported)?...It's taken some people I know up to 2 years to find a job,but in that time they never stole a house......Now,If the owner(bank) stops paying taxes on it and abandons it due to these yahoos,should the local taxpayer funded fire dept. respond to a fire?????..or should the local taxpayer funded police respond to a call there?....Or should these kids go to a local taxpayer funded school?????.Are they going to steal water,or electric next???..If they have no water or electric,the city health dept SHOULD shut this down.......I make $35K a year.....So I guess I'm part of the 99%,...and these people DO NOT represent me...........U.S.Army Disabled Veteran
OK....so now.....the police did nothing. Last week, they did too much. I feel bad for law enforcement. They will be wrong either way. As far as this action, it is mob mentality, just like most of the OWS. Can;t wait to hear the bleeding hearts when they throw them out tomorrow. Lots of good points here...ten years?? What about power, water, maintenance?? This is all wrong
FLASH8 -- You are full of racist baloney! I am a very hardworking Black person, who pays my taxes, have never been on the welfare roll or received any other governmental assistance. I have been married twice and have two (now adult) children. Both of my former husbands were deadbeats who refused to pay any court ordered child support and do not file or pay any income taxes. I own my own home. Both of my children graduated from high school and do not depend on the welfare system either. I DO NOT agree with this family's tactic of house stealing. Two wrongs do not make a right and the bank does own the house. These people have no right to a "free home" while the rest of us bust our butts 8-5 every day to survive. Flash8 -- Freeloaders come in every color of the rainbow.
Yep, gogetum FREE home, even while you continue to talk on your cellphone (notice talking on cellphone while walking to the home with husband? and two kids, and then holding onto cellphone in other picture).
If I were the owner of this home, ANYONE intruding on MY PROPERTY will have a new home....JAIL !!!
@1ad-1602146
flash8 is making a general statement and you are taking it personally. Here's a true piece of information...the average black-American has an IQ of 85. The cutoff for borderline intellectual functioning begins at 84. Does this mean that all black-Americans have very low IQ's? Certainly not, but many do. Similarly, many of those who mooch off of the system happen to be black. Are all black-Americans moochers?...no, but many are.
Sorry but Facts are Facts. I know it hurts (1ad) but unfortunately the naacp does not live within facts only hatred and racism. See when you call me a racist for only bringing the FACTS to light only proves your ignorance.
Pull your racist crap on some white liberal (GUILT SUCKER) within your local SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICE not this guy... Have a nice day!
I'm 99.99% positive you voted for Obammy didn't you.... Why because of his extensive political career? YOU RACIST!
Flash8 -- You are GD right -- I did vote for "Obammy" as opposed to a nimble brained idiot like Sarah Palin, which is totally irrelevant to this article.
I am hardly the ignorant one here because at least I know that FREELOADERS come in all colors -- not just Black. So keep race baiting "statistics" out of this one -- this is about ALL FREELOADERS and people who think they are "entitled" to a handout.
Lastly, tell your mother to go to her local SOCIAL SERVICES OFFICE. Like I said in my post, I have NEVER been a welfare recipient, and as long as I am able, will never be a welfare or social services recipient, so kiss my BIG BLACK ROUND ---!
See again you ignorant fool you go to name calling when I nail every point of your miserable existence. 1). You voted for Hussein Obama because you are black, 2). 75% of BLACK Kids are born out of wed-lock and have limited fathers: Jail, Dead or living with their mothers-when they have 3 baby mommas?!
See you ignorant fool? I will give you a pass since you are not educated to understand that the Democrat Slave owners have kept people of "Color" in Welfare Slavery since 1965. Yes I know facts seem to escape you and your LOW IQ would tell you to bring your GHETTO logic and bring my mother into the conversation; Strong Proud WHITE Married Female 40+ years (Do you know your Daddy? Doubt it) into our dispute but I will give you a pass since your intellect cannot match mine. Sounds like affirmative action right? We lower the standards so your kind can compete (RACIST'S)?
You wouldn't vote for SP or any other Republican since they proselytize self reliance + much, much more. Keep being subservient to your Democratic SLAVE OWNERS.....
They are trying to say housing is a right, but it is not. You have a right to support yourself but have no right to expect others to pay for your support. That is the problem with OWS. They want others to take responsibility for them but don't want to take responsibility for themselves. Until that changes, America will only get worse.
You have the right to pursue happiness, but no guarantee of success. Success is up to you and your family, and friends if you earned the right to have some call you "friend," not anyone else.
And for those who didn't see yesterday's Gallop poll, nearly all successful people in the 1% are educated with college degrees in something that would make them successful. Who's fault is that?
If you are going to use government loans to get an education, then use them to get one that will earn that will get you a job that is in demand along with one that earns you enough to pay it back, or forward. Freedom isn't free and it never will be. There will always be a catch.
And Flash, I tend to agree with your basis, but you really need to tone down the hate. The truth is what it is and the one's who chose welfare over work are dragging America down, as well as those who what others to pay the bill so that they can get there own welfare.
Get the truth out in a reasonable manner. Otherwise it only provokes.
FLASH8 -- You are the one who started with the name calling. If you can't take it -- don't dish it out. You don't know jack about me, so do not attempt to include me in any racist rants or stereotypes just because you do agree with my opinion. It is amazing how you pseudo-intellectuals thing. Now GAGF!
I've NEVER had anything handed to me. I had to drop out of college because I couldn't get the grants or loans to finish schooling. My wife and I lost our house because I can't get anything better then minimul wage job. We couldn't get any help with the house either. The city of Wichita wanted us to fix the house but wouldn't give us any help to do so. We had RACOONS in the house and we didn't have the money to fix the chimenies. I have horrible allergies that I can't take shots for because I can't afford the co-pay for the insurance. Just a bunch of bs. All the help goes to the minorities to "make up for the past." What about the rest of us? I'm a brilliant mind that got wasted because I couldn't get the help I needed to do what I wanted to do.
You people are idiots! You will soon have a place to live, it's called the City Jail and your kids will have a place to live, it's call a Foster Home. GOOD LUCK.
"We want to make a public stance … for people to take sides."
Congratulations... on finally finishing nailing your own coffin shut OWS.
If 53% of America didn't have to support people like this who abuse the system and have a complete disregard for those who actually work the country would be in much better shape.
I supported their movement to a degree but this is way overboard. All they are going to do is drive the American people away from supporting them. This could be the start of the end for OWS.
They're clearly not a very bright bunch. If they actually had a leader, this little episode would not have been allowed.
Their leader is Obama along with every other leftist in the country that has sat on the sidelines encouraging this crap. Government supported anarchy is their goal. "We want you to pay for us while we spit on you" is their motto.
Like I said, Bob, lol.
Can't say I agree with just taking over the house. I think this will lose them a ton of support. Civil disobedience is a great idea but this isn't that.
Civil disobedience is a great idea but I agree, this isn't a good thing. I guess the key word is CIVIL, when you start breaking into properties and things of that nature, the CIVIL part of the protest is gone.
they are also going to do work on a house they cannot keep LOL
what a bunch of jokes the whole occupy movement has become
Really a joke, I want you take 5 min out of day and watch this video and tell me if its a joke, tell me if you find it funny? Do not reply to this until you watch it.
http://occupyourhomes.org/stories/2011/dec/5/bobbys-story-facing-foreclosure-fighting-back/#disqus_thread
Mark, I feel bad for Bobby--but how is his situation relevant? These people have been homeless for 10 years and chose to reproduce. During the best economic climate, they did not have a home or a job. There are services out there to help people take the necessary steps.
That being said, Bobby's situation does relate to the economic climate we are in today. But that does not justify trespassing and squatting in another's property. Two wrongs do not make a right. I don't recall Martin Luther King taking over other people's property.......
So, yes, most feel that people like Bobby need a helping hand or the system needs to be adjusted. But the family in this article---why are they stealing a house?
thats great and all mark, but that does not justify the stealing of entire properties. people fall on rough times for sure, but does that make him entitled to the property that he does not own??
explain your rational for effectively stealing property that does not belong to him
The point is that every single foreclosure has a story behind it and gradually over the past 30 yrs mortgage lenders gobbled up local/community banks to create a vast empire that was "TBTF". These conglomerates removed the human element from communities in the process replacing it with dollar signs. When the "Bailouts" were made banks were supposed to inject that money into the economy by lending and refinancing. It was not done and if you look into why it wasn't you'll see they deliberately did so to keep inflation low to maximize returns on bonds. It's irresponsibility on the part of the government, the banks, and very bad luck for those who may have lost their jobs, healthcare, and now their homes.
@ Mark
Luck? Regardless if you couldn't see the writing on the wall years ago you have no one to blame but yourself. Owning a house is not a right, it is a privaledge. what is wrong with that guy renting an apartment or house for awhile considering he cannot afford his current situation? Gone are the days of easy credit where you can put no money down to buy a house.
IF you want to point fingers anywhere, point it at jimmy carter for the community reinvestment act, point it at bill clinton in the 90's for pushing lenders to lend with little restriciton, and point fingers at barney frank for saying in 2005 when george bush raised the red flags on fannie and freddie that " they are on solid financial footing"
there is no one to blame here but liberal policies, that always, i repeat , always hurt the middle and lower class in the end. and thats the same with unemployment insurance, food stamps, everything.
if you want to deal with the human element, go to a credit union where all depositors hold the same common interest. no one is forcing you to deal with the big banks. refinance and go to a credit union if you have problems. remeber, we have the freedom to place our money where we would like to.
Mark, apples and oranges...Bobby is fighting to stay in HIS OWN home (don't really understood how it's not paid off after 40 plus years but oh well)...these people, the Glasgows, aren't fighting for anything that is theirs....they are trespassing on someone else's property...makes no difference who owns it whether it's an individual or a bank. The property doesn't belong to the Glasgows....throw them out!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@brendan-4,
I agreed with you up to the part when you said.
The actual problem here is greed, and the inability to own up to your own faults. It's like if I were to come into your home and knock a potted plant over. Instead of owning up and apologizing and offering to clean it up or replacing it, I yelled at you for putting the stupid plant there in the first place. The houses were never worth that much to begin with. People became greedy. Lenders became greedy. It was a sellers market and everyone got onto the flipping bandwagon. Most people doing it bought houses and sold them the next day for 20k profit without ever having spent a dime on the house to begin with. Now a lot of people will say that's capitalistic. Maybe, but I think it's just greed. Me trying to buy and live in a 500k house on 50k a year is greed. I can't afford it, and if I think that there is some way I can do it on 50k a year then I should have reviewed my mortgage contract with an attorney and quite possibly had my head examined. What these guys did here was way out there. They need to be imprisoned and their children taken. The protesters need to be charged with trespassing and thrown into jail until they grow up.
Your information on Bush is wrong. He came on national television and begged the American people to spend. Even handed out money I think it was 600.00 for a couple? How quickly one again wants to point fingers and forget. America needs to grow up... Democrat and Republican. We need to finally own up to our mistakes and quit blaming someone else.
josh
Yep. Your right in 2001 Bush tried the same thing that Obama did in 2009. Gave out money so people would spend it and get the Economy going. Only problem was they didn't spend it on goods they paid off debt. So no Economic Stimulus. Same thing happened in 2009. Then in 2003 Bush wised up and did TAX CUTS FOR ALL and eliminated some deductions for the Rich. Then the Economy started to grow and jobs were created.
Mark-3147899
"Really a joke, I want you take 5 min out of day and watch this video and tell me if its a joke, tell me if you find it funny? Do not reply to this until you watch it.
Mark, I watched the video. I am not impressed with someone who's mother bought a home in 1968 at probably around 20-25k that hasn't got it paid for. Loans are for 30 years tops. It should have been paid off in 1998. Why is he still paying on it? Because he borrowed against like many of us have done. Houses are worth 10x today than they were back then so people tend to refinance to get the cash out of them and worry about the bill later, with no cushion like savings. So who's fault is that, really?
I am a vet from the same era as the guy in the video. I did my share of stupid things when the economy was good, including refinancing my house to pay for other things. But I am still making the payments without financial assistance, partly do to savings and small inheritance. I haven't had a job in 31 months and don't have 9 brothers and sisters that seem to be perpetually unemployed.
I'll make my payments. And as for health bills, they are always nice to pay but if you can't afford them, mortgaging your house is the dumbest way to pay for them. Veterans have the VA to turn to when uninsured and below a certain income level. All honorably discharged are eligible. Non vets can go to the emergency room if they don't have insurance. They have to serve you - federal law. Just ask any illegal alien.
Bottom line: I am sorry that a fellow vet is having problems, but it sounds more like bad decisions on his part as well as his siblings that got him into the mess he is in.
He is just one of millions who screwed himself. Most were talked into screwing themselves by Chris Dodd and Barney Frank do to their regulations to give those who could never afford a House a loan in the first place. Of course they blamed Bush for that.
I don't place my views of the nation on one lost soul. I blame everyone who cause this mess which includes nearly everyone, including me. However, I am not asking for a handout to pay my mortgage, nor am I breaking the law by trespassing or destroying public or private property trying to get sympathy. Those who do are not real Americans. They are anarchists wanting something for nothing along with immunity for crimes committed.
slodon
"josh
Yep. Your right in 2001 Bush tried the same thing that Obama did in 2009. Gave out money so people would spend it and get the Economy going. Only problem was they didn't spend it on goods they paid off debt. So no Economic Stimulus. Same thing happened in 2009. Then in 2003 Bush wised up and did TAX CUTS FOR ALL and eliminated some deductions for the Rich. Then the Economy started to grow and jobs were created."
You are both right. No economic stimulus will ever fix this mess. Unemployment was below 5% for most of the Bush years, until the dems got control of congress and went on a spending spree that did nothing but increase unemployment. The left used their stimulus to buy crap they didn't need with money other people will pay in the future, while the right paid down their debts with money they paid into the system in the first place.
The left wants to blame this mess on Bush and republicans (I am a life long dem), but until the dems got control of congress the crisis did not exist. In fact, the Bush admin was trying to warn about the housing crisis coming and the left ignored it. Chis Dodd and Barney Frank are most responsible for protecting Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac along with the large banks. But the left refuses to hear that because the left owns most media and has them brainwashed.
Maybe a handful of them will be smart enough to arm themselves before the complete collapse when they will be at risk for their lives, and not just the government handouts they think they deserve for doing nothing. Their own kind will eat them.
"A New York family with two children that has been living in shelters for more than a decade"
That is as far as I got. Get off your lazy asses and get a job.
Agreed 110%. Homeless people screwing and dropping out kids for the welfare / negative tax returns needs to be reformed. This sh*t is so broken right now.
Notice how the kids are under 10? They just bump uglies in the middle of the homeless shelter without any thought whatsoever? I know eugenics is evil, but c'mon...this needs to stop.
So they will silently and obediently break the law.....jail for the 'role model parents' and the 'system' for the children conceived while in homeless shelters. Perhaps a better life for all would be had if the 27 year old 'dad' had gone to school, and the wife had chosen to educate herself or work prior to having offspring.
Good god this is absurd.
When your "leaders" gain their power by promising "free" handouts in exchange for votes this is where the future of your country goes.
Renovations? Donated tools at $6,400? Why does a family that plans to live in a house as squatters, need renovations? I would think the house is just fine as is. Are taxes due on a foreclosed home? If squatter rights are assumed and by some far fetched chance this family assumes ownership, will they have money to pay taxes? It's hard to pay property taxes with no job.
Apparently, nothing is as hard as we thought for those who don't work to help themselves. Here's proof you can live like bums for years and years, while procreating, and then have some well meaning IDIOTS give you all the help you can want.
There is no justification for stealing. This is thievery, plain and simple. Shame on you! Yet one more reason not to support any occupy movement. They're the twins of the tea party. BOTH THE TEA PARTY AND OCCUPY groups are ANTI-AMERICAN, and are doing their best to DESTROY America. They should join together in one group, and call themselves "DESTROY AMERICA", since that seems to be their intent.
The Tea party is for smaller government and this article is a good example why. Without our government's attempt at "social-engineering for votes" people like this would need to work to provide for themselves instead of feeding off others.
Ok SFL561, so what do you call what Wall Street did to Main Street? This was just plain STEALING. And your friends in DC seem to not want to take action, keep paying bonuses and allow them to keep the job that pays them 7 digits. ANTI American starts in DC, both parties, the only thing they want is to fill their bank accounts off the backs of Main Street.
John,
I agree both parties are at fault, but 2 wrongs do not make a right. Even if people on Wall Street stole money, it doesn't justify OWS stealing a house.
@John - I call it thievery! There should NEVER have been a bailout. They should have been allowed to go down. No one in DC is a friend of mine, nor are any tea party members or occupiers. I have no party affiliation, and as far as I'm concerned, the sooner we end this "party" cr@p, the better!! BOTH democrats AND republicans are DESTROYING America, and need to be stopped.
John,
The article says they are going to force their way into the house. Isn't that breaking and entering. I cannot believe that this is going to happen. That house was purchsed with money borrowed from a bank, and that banks money came from others who have put money into that bank. Don't care if you argee or disagree with what Wall Street and Banks did. This is against the law, and just plain wrong.
So, I guess you guys are on the Banks side? GOP/TP already demonizing this action before it has even happened... JS, Baltimore I don't believe you are a liberal Democrat...we don't even call ourselves liberal Democrats. So, I guess you think all the forclosures are right and good, right. Banks setting people up to lose their most valuable possession, their home... I guess you guys back that right? You would rather see it sitting there empty and people starve in the streets right? And homeless family's want to be homeless right? Its their own fault for being poor and homeless, right? You greedy bastards need to get a soul... American citizens are being thown into the streets through no fault of their own, and you support it...
so you are effectively arguing against property rights? they have no right to take over any foreclosed housing -- they do not own it!!
are you against individual property rights? doesn't matter who owns it, its the thought that counts
also - they signed the paperwork, don't buy what you cannot afford.
Tim, I most certainly DO call myself a liberal Democrat. I have been a registered Dem since my eighteenth birthday and many of MY positions on things are seen as being on the liberal side (I'm pro-choice, I'm pro-decriminalizing marijuana)...therefore, I am a liberal Democrat. Sorry to disappoint. Liberal is not a dirty word, it is not offensive to me. I am not what anyone would ever confuse with conservative in my views...hence, I'm liberal.
I don't side with big banks, I don't think honest people losing their homes is good...not ever but I'll be damned if I think its okay to live in homeless shelters for TEN YEARS...ten freakin' years, and then TAKE WHAT IS NOT YOURS.
Do yourself a favor, look up "Kennedy Democrat"...that about sums me up to a T.
Sorry buddy, I'm one of you!!!!
10 years in a homeless shelter. 2 kids under 10. Did you read the article? I'm all for accountability for the CEO's and leaders who've caused the economic messes we're in, even hopefully, jail time for them.
But this isn't what OWS was meant to be. Having a soul has nothing to do with supporting folks who are so obviously depending on the genorosity of Americans rather than helping themselves out of their morass.
Tim, this is THEFT. Pure and simple. Put the shoe on your own foot. How would you feel if someone came and took possession of a house that YOU owned, just because it happened to be empty? You'd be mad as heck and demanding they leave! The bank isn't the only one affected, when they lose property like this, those that have accounts will lose in higher fees too. Not to mention they are giving those two kids ENTIRELY the wrong idea, that they can just take whatever they want if no one else is using it, no matter who it belongs to.
This is a country based on the rule of LAW, not mob rule.
Tim - you have made no valid points here. What about the now homeless people who used to own this house??? What about them? And I agree - there is no legitimate reason to stay 10 years in a homeless shelter, AND have children during that time! And I'm not trying to be mean - just stating what I see in the picture. They have nice, new clothes, and the mother is holding a cell phone.
I've worked in enough homeless shelters to know that 'truly' poor, homeless people do not have these things....they are lucky to have a coat and shoes.
Here's a concept - I'd like to see the family or individuals living in that house that orignally procured the property. How about the original owners comeback to claim their property that was taken by the banks?
Tim, you really should read the whole article before making dumb ass comments. THESE PEOPLE DON'T OWN THIS HOME THEY ESSENTIALLY ARE STEALING IT!!! It's not about being for the banks it's about doing the right thing. Don't you think the people who lost THEIR home would love to have it back? These scumbags have been living off the system for 10 years and to make matters worse bringing more children into this world they can't support. What right do they have to just take over someone else's home. They should get a job and work for what they want in life like most other people do. The best part is the mom thinks she is doing something good by giving her children a home only to have it ripped away, and teach them stealing someone else's home is ok!!
Uhh, Tim...you really need to get a grip dude! This has nothing to do with someone losing their home and fighting to stay in it. "And homeless families want to be homeless..." Well, apparently, the Glasgow's didn't mind it since they made the shelter their home for 10 yrs!!! And many Americans are being thrown into the streets precisely because they are at fault. They signed contracts promising to pay loans they knew they couldn't afford; the banks didn't force them to sign mortgage papers. Do I have sympathy for those families losing their homes due to loss of job or expensive health problems? Absolutely. But do I have sympathy for a 30 yr old and 27 yr old couple who've spent their entire adult life in a shelter? No way....this is just another example of people wanting a hand out, plain and simple! Arrest them...at least they'll have a home. JAIL!!!!
Tim - These freeloaders have no right to take anyone's property--bank's or individual's. Ten yrs in homeless shelters? Bull. Both adults could have had several jobs in that time, and give up the reproduction cycle. They're B & E which requires jail time (free housing & food).
They've been living in homeless shelters for over a decade, but they have 2 kids under 10? Where the hell is the logic?
More mouths = more welfare. There is the "logic".
I forgot to put my "cheat the system" cap on. I'll remember that for next time.
Yeah we should totally trample their civil rights by telling them they are not allowed to have children. Mandatory abstinence for the homeless! So much for smaller government
Brawndo, no one is saying mandatory abstinence. Just zero sympathy for people that find themselves in a hole and can't seem to stop digging in deeper. Broke and homeless and jobless? Much easier to find a job if you don't have to find daycare.
No one is saying they didn't have the RIGHT to have children; we're saying they didn't have the COMMON SENSE not to have children when they couldn't properly provide for them. Whatever happened to personal accountability and responsibility? This is what you get when you have a Nanny-Welfare state....
What about the right of the child to not be powerlessly born into the world to parents who've not led secure lives in over 10 years? Screw em' right? It's what mommy and daddy want most that counts most, huh? It'll be no wonder when the kids grow up with the exact same sense of entitlement.
Half of the middle class is fighting for a good number of massive corporations which have been manipulating laws and regulations for decades to bring America to this point in which even in times of economic turmoil, those corporations can continue to rob the country blind, out in the open, with no fear of repercussions because the White House is filled with their former execs.
The other half of the middle class fights for social and educational programs which have led America on a downward spiral for many decades as well. Social and educational entities are necessary, but for the sake of making everyone feel good and achieving perfect, absolutely equalizing mediocrity, they have slowly helped to build a sense of perverse entitlement from childhood to adulthood in which work and responsibility are optional, but rewards and payments are mandatory.
One family goes homeless from the same house that goes to another homeless family? Are these people ok??
Gotta agree with the majority here. What right do you have to occupy the house? Are you going to kick me out next and move a homeless family in? I believe you have killed your own movement. Time to go home. At least the tea party (yup lower case) stuck around and did something worthwhile. Not sure I agree with the tea party and their direction, but at least they have one and are trying to move that way.
I agree with much of your statement, but just to clarify: it was the bank who kicked out the original owners, not the occupy movement.
How do you know the previous residents didn't live there rent-free for 2 years before mailing the keys to the bank because they simply didn't want to pay anymore after becoming underwater on their "investment"?
"We call it positive action."
I call it "laughing out loud as you're sent to jail."
I see the good intentions here, but this is foolish. If the occupyers want to take a stand like this, they should be the ones squatting in this house. They're putting this family, which is obviously already in a vulnerable situation, in danger.
...and many families who are homeless are working poor, plenty of educated people fall on hard times, you don't know what happened to this family to cause their situation, so please drop the "get a job" and all of that other judgmental crap. That's hateful and ignorant.
Uh, did you notice they've been homeless for TEN FREAKIN' YEARS? That isn't hard times, that is sheer laziness. There are jobs out there, you just have to be willing to take them.
So, is it ok for people that are living in a homeless shelter for 10 years to have two children? How is that right? Sure, some homeless people are as you say but this family is not. I'm with JS - this is so aggravating and it only serves to hurt OWS' cause. How stupid can OWS organizers be?
You only read part of my comment before plugging in your talking points.
If a family is evicted from their home then I am for letting them stay and offering them terms they can live with. If we had a jobs program for the unemployed then they would be able to pay something to the banks until thing improve. However throwing someone out of their home and then giving it to some other homeless person does not seem right. If however the person evicted does not wish to move back into their former home then by all means give it to someone else who will take care of the house.
What makes you think they can 'take care of the house'? How will they pay the utility and water bills? If they could have done this, I'd think they already would have - in their OWN home. Not one stolen from someone else.
Give it to someone who will take care of the house?!?!
Are we giving homes away to people now? Because if that's the case I am more than capable of taking care of a house. I'd be a great candidate. Perhaps I should just sell my home and grab a freebie...
You both ignored my points. These repossessed houses should not be given to someone else. The original owners should have first dibs and if we had a jobs program then they could pay for their utilities and give something to the banks. Geez try reading an entire post for a change instead of singling out one aspect of it and ignoring the rest.
First of all, you should eliminate the word "give" from your vocabulary. You don't "give" money to a bank while you live in their house. You pay them.
And if you're living in a house worth $100,000 and paying "something" to the banks, that's not enough. If you can only afford "something", you should only be living in "something" - like a box.
Or better yet lets just throw everyone out on the streets who can't pay enough and well let them starve while we allow our politicians to continue to send billions to foreign countries who would slit our throats if given the opportunity. May you be one of the first to be thrown out on the street and allowed to starve.
hey ..I am as liberal as they come...but this is a joke!!!...they arent married so she can get more "aid"...and they had 2 kids while livin in a shelter...why did they not use birth control....I am sure who ever has the deed to that house will kick them out legally ...why dont they get a JOB and than go rent something like evryone else has to....
They are married. The photo caption clearly refers to "her husband."
Common-law perhaps, but I'll bet she doesn't call him her "husband" on her tax forms, Medicaid, food stamps, or other welfare applications.
and all the top welfare states are republican...that ends the debate...period!!!!
actually all welfare recipients and illegal aliens are Democrats, everybody knows that.
really??? I would live to see the proof that backs up this statement!
Jenn, California holds over 30% of the Welfare recipients in the US and we all know that California is a strong Democratic state, therefore your statement is 100% false. Now the Debate is ended!!
The folks have been in homeless shelters for TEN years and have two kids under ten years old? What is wrong with that picture? These people couldn't find even an apartment for ten years yet had two kids with no home for them. What is there to make anyone think they will even be able to pay the basic bills for that place? Will the OWS folks do that for them too? Something just is not right about that situation.
Wow so lets live in shelters for 10 years...not just a few months until we get back on our feet. lets have kids we cannot afford...we knew we couldn't afford them since we had them while we were living in shelters. AND finally lets just move into a house because we want to. It doesn't matter that others have to pay if they want the house. Who the F do these people think they are??? Want nice things in life than get a job and earn them like everyone else. If you are not willing to work then you have to live on the streets and have nothing. Simple...or at least it should be.
I think it's about more than this one instance, its about calling attention to the foreclosure crisis in the whole country, about how American families are being effected by the foreclosure and unemployment mess. If you are one who has turned a blind eye to the homeless problem, the foreclosure problem in this country, if you are part of justifying what the banks are doing and what they have and continue to perpitrate on American citizens, you are wrong... This is bigger than this one instance of action, right or wrong as this action may be, if it revives the conversation, if it gets American citizens help and power against the banks, its right.
This isn't doing anything but hurting the OWS movement....again. This family and this action represents everything that people don't like about the Occupy movement. It is NOT ok to have two children while living in a homeless shelter and then storm someone else's house (bank owned or otherwise).
All that is going to come of this are two parents in jail and two children in foster care. The OWS movement has proved their dissenters point with their own idiocy.
Tim, please stop talking. I have to assume you have no idea how foolish and uninformed you sound.
So Tim....where in your mind does homeowner responsibility come into play? There have surely been mistakes made and greed by the banks....but the other side of it is that the homeowners should have known they could never afford the house they purchased. Ignorance is no excuse. Bottom line is, when you mortgage a property and you can't or don't pay the bank can take the property as it is collateral for the loan. you cannot blame the entire situation on the banks. The homeowners should have looked harder and with better understanding at the rates of interest they were paying, types of loans etc. NONE of that justifies theft. The bank didn't steal this house in foreclosure they had a RIGHT to it and they OWN it. OWS is stealing this property and placing a family in it.
Thank you JenAllen! You took the words right out of my mouth
Hello Tim: This is about a family & ows stealing property; B & E. Most of us are aware of the homeless problem; doesn't mean a family like this who've lived off the system for 10 yrs should be given a free home. I've donated hundred of hrs to shelters, and to Stand Downs (homeless vets), so I've seen some sad situations. Amazes me, though, that they reproduce, and some even have pets! Birth control is free. This country is getting sadder by the day.
lol....this is part of the reason why all of New York City is going broke.....too many people like this live here and expect everyone else to take care of them......by the way, I saw a beautiful beachfront home in Easthampton and would like to live there, can OWS help me to move in while the owners are at their penthouse on Central Park West?.......
Um, nycguy, first, before you can be helped into a fabulous new home, you'll have to prove you've not worked for the last decade and that you have in fact lived off everyone else in homeless shelters whilst bringing children into the world that you couldn't feed or provide with housing...then, THEN, your application for a free housing upgrade will be considered.
Someone needs to do some clarification research on this article. States pay for family shelter placement, and there's no way anyone would be in shelter for a decade. The family might have been in transitional housing or other state programs, but this information cannot possibly be correct. The mischaracterization has caused all kinds of backlash on this thread. Better reporting would have helped.
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There are shelters in NYC that aren't run by the state. They are run by non-profits, churches and community groups.
I was actually just thinking the same thing....maybe Section 8 or something? And whoever wrote the article just called it a homeless shelter. Besides, no homeless shelter I've ever seen allows men to be housed with women and children - so no baby making in the shelter. They at least did that elsewhere...
Thank you, Jen, for being a voice of reason.
I'm not being unreasonable, I'm just pointing out that there are private shelters as well. It might explain how they came to be in shelters for 10 years.
PH - I wasn't referring to you with that comment. I just meant the general tone of the comments on this article. Your point was quite logical, and, based on a new article posted on the same issue, appears to be the case with this family.
Thanks! I just know from growing up in NYC that the private network is pretty robust. That said, it was an interesting point you made about public shelter requirements. I had no idea that's how it worked.
hmm....so if I were to use this logic, my moronic b*tching would probably sound like........I've been living with my parents ever since I was born, which is a hell of a lot longer than these f*cktards have been bunking down in the shelter, and I want a big house and a new Lambo, yet I cannot afford either right now, nor have I been able to afford them in my previous 20-something years of existence. Now I've seen a nice big house that appears to be vacant and I've seen a new Lambo that appeared to not have a driver in it, therefore I shall assume that both of these items happen to be owner-less and thus free, not for the taking of everyone, but are free exclusively for the taking for myself. (*facepalm*)
lol these freeloaders will get a new home allright....its called Rikers Island, a wonderful ultra-exclusive island community with pristine view to LaGuardia and Harlem. Only catch is that the parole board decides if you can leave.
This is how the shelter system works in New York: http://www.nyc.gov/html/dhs/html/homeless/famserv.shtml
Yes, capecodmom, that's how the PUBLIC system works. There is a private homeless shelter network as well. They probably managed a combination of the two.
i'm all for trying to keep people in their homes however this is not their home. this property belongs to the bank and nothing is going to be gained by people just flopping into a house and laying claim to it.