ACORN News November 25, 2003VOTER REGISTRATION UPDATE: ACORN REGISTERS 73,000 VOTERS SINCE JULY 2003As we move into 2004, ACORN, with the assistance of Project Vote, is spearheading a massive voter registration, voter education, and get-out-the-vote project in critically important states all across the nation. Since July 2003, ACORN has already registered 73,684 voters in low and moderate income, African American and Latino neighborhoods. Several ACORN offices have already topped 5,000 registrations, including:  | Twin Cities, MN with 13,845
| | Kansas City, MO with 10,473
| | Portland, OR with 6,431
| | Miami, FL with 5,779 |
ACORN AND HOUSEHOLD REACH SETTLEMENT IN CLASS ACTION LAWSUITACORN and Household International Inc., now owned by HSBC Holdings, announced November 25 that they have reached a proposed settlement of a national class action lawsuit brought against the company by ACORN in 2002. The centerpiece of the settlement is a $72 million Foreclosure Avoidance Program (FAP) which will provide relief to Household borrowers who are delinquent on their payments and at risk of losing their homes. Components of the program include: interest rate reductions, waivers of unpaid late charges, deferral of accrued unpaid interest, and loan principal reductions. ACORN President Maude Hurd commented that ACORN is “especially pleased that this program will help families stay in their homes, and preserve all they have poured into them.” The settlement follows a three-year campaign by ACORN to change Household’s lending practices, and a $484 million settlement earlier this year between Household and a group of State Attorneys General initiated by ACORN’s work with Household victims to file formal complaints. For more information, contact Lisa Donner at acorncampaign(at)acorn.org or 718-246-7900. RHODE ISLAND WINS UTILITIES ASSISTANCE PROGRAMOn November 19, Rhode Island ACORN members and Governor Donald Carcieri held a press conference to announce the creation and funding of a special utility restoration fund. The fund will provide assistance to Rhode Islanders whose gas or electricity have been disconnected and are eligible for LIHEAP, but who owe more in bills and fees for service restoration than LIHEAP can provide. ACORN members have been working to win a utilities assistance program in the state for the last three years. This summer, ACORN leaders turned out over 250 residents to hearings on a proposed “affordable energy bargain” which the Public Utilities Commission sent back to its working group for revision earlier this fall. ACORN also held a series of meetings with the State Attorney General and the governor, organized a candle light vigil at the home of Southern Union Gas Co.’s CEO, the parent company of New England Gas Co., and held an action at the main office of New England Gas Co. demanding assistance for low-income families. The new utility restoration fund will help hundreds of families restore their heat for winter, and represents the first step in creating a long term affordable energy solution for low and moderate income Rhode Island residents. For more information, contact Aimee Olin at riacorn(at)acorn.org or 410-780-0500. ACORN CHAPTERS PROTEST PROPOSED LIHEAP CUTSACORN members in Missouri, Delaware, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Pennsylvania are protesting the House Republican Leaderships’ attempts to cut LIHEAP (Low Income Heating Assistance Program) funding by almost $300 million. In these cities, ACORN members have been taking over Republican offices and demanding that officials fax letters to House Majority Leader Tom Delay and Labor-HHS and Education Appropriations Subcommittee Chair Ralph Regula asking that they include $2 billion for LIHEAP in the omnibus appropriations bill. Last year, states had approximately $2 billion available to serve low-income families. Any lower amount this year would directly affect access to utilities for working families, seniors, and disabled individuals. For more information, contact Rachel Burrows at rburrows(at)acorn.org or 202-547-2500. NEW YORK RALLIES FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSINGOn November 20, 500 ACORN members and ten City Councilmembers rallied to support passage of affordable housing legislation in New York City. There are currently three pieces of legislation developed by ACORN under consideration by City Council committees which would: change the affordable housing income guidelines to create thousands of units affordable to households earning less than $40,000 per year; reform the City’s policy of auctioning off public land in low-income neighborhoods without any requirements for improvement or development; and increase disclosure requirements for the City’s affordable housing programs to better track who is benefiting. At the press conference and rally, ACORN members presented data and anecdotal evidence about the city’s affordable housing crisis and policies towards vacant land. All ten City Councilmembers attending pledged their support for the measures, and promised to push the City Council Speaker to hold hearings on the bills. For more information, contact Bertha Lewis at nyacornbrk(at)acorn.orgor 718-246-7900. MINNESOTA WINS TEMPORARY SHUT-DOWN OF MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE SCAM ARTISTOn November 20, Minnesota ACORN members held a joint press conference with State Attorney General Mike Hatch to announce a court order requiring mortgage foreclosure rescue scam operator Hendrie Grant to cease all transactions, including evictions, acquiring new properties and selling existing properties. At the press conference, victims of Grant and other foreclosure rescue scam operations shared their stories, and highlighted the need for additional legislative action. Following up commitments made at an October 28 town hall meeting organized by ACORN, a dozen State Legislators and the Attorney General restated their commitment to coauthoring legislation during the next legislative session to protect homeowners from increasing numbers of aggressive foreclosure rescue scams. State Attorney General Hatch credited the successful court order in part to ACORN’s work to publicize the problem through its Foreclosure Rescue Scam Campaign. For more information, contact Becky Gomer at mnacorn(at)acorn.org or 651-642-9639. SEATTLE SAVES CROSSING GUARDSIn November, Seattle ACORN members and local crossing guards joined together to successfully preserve funding for crossing guards at busy intersections near schools. In Seattle, crossing guards are paid for through the police department budget, and are primarily retired community members who work three hours per day ensuring that children are able to safely cross dangerous streets. In response to the mayor’s budget which included major cuts in funding for the crossing guards, ACORN members worked with crossing guards in their neighborhoods to organize protests at two City Council budget hearings, and hold a community forum on the issue. As a result, the City Council voted to fully fund crossing guards for the coming year. For more information, contact Jenny Lawson at waacorn(at)acorn.org or 206-723-5845. PHILADELPHIA INTRODUCES CITY RESOLUTION AGAINST REFUND ANTICIPATION LOANSOn November 20, Philadelphia City Councilwoman Marian Tasco introduced two ACORN-initiated city resolutions to fight predatory financial service providers. The first condemned the use of Refund Anticipation Loans by predatory tax preparers and the second promoted the use of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. ACORN members attended the City Council session in support of the resolutions, and held signs reading “Rapid Refunds Hurt Our Neighborhoods!” Following the meeting, ACORN members held a joint press conference with Councilwoman Tasco and Jean Hunt of the Campaign for Working Families, which coordinates Philadelphia’s VITA Program. Earlier in the month, on November 14, ACORN members from Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Delaware organized a rally at a North Philadelphia H&R Block office to protest the company’s deceptive use of Refund Anticipation Loans, which strip millions of dollars from low and moderate income tax payers every year. For more information, contact Ali Kronley at paacorn(at)acorn.org or 215-765-0042. THIRD NATIONAL LIVING WAGE CONFERENCE A SUCCESSOver 100 living wage organizers and activists gathered in Baltimore November 14-16 for ACORN’s third National Living Wage Campaign Training Conference. Representatives from 44 different campaigns – both veterans and newcomers – participated in 16 workshops on topics such as effective coalition building, campaign research, supporting unions and new directions in living wage organizing. A subset of attendees also went through a day-long media training, presented in collaboration with the SPIN Project, where they focused on honing their messages and engaging media more effectively in their campaigns. For information on the training made available at the conference, contact Jen Kern at natacorncam(at)acorn.org or 617-740-9500. ACORN AND MOVEON RELEASE TV AD CRITICIZING BUSH ECONOMIC POLICIESOn November 25, ACORN members in Pittsburgh (PA), Columbus (OH), Cleveland (OH), Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) and Little Rock (AR), held joint press conferences with MoveOn representatives announcing the release of a new television ad criticizing the Bush administration’s handling of the economy. The ad highlights how since Bush took office in 2000 more than 2 million jobs have been lost – the most jobs lost during any single administration since Herbert Hoover was president from 1929-1933. At the press conferences, ACORN members who are unemployed or still struggling to pay the bills despite full-time employment, testified about the impact Bush’s economic policies have had on their lives – including this year’s huge tax cuts benefiting the nation’s wealthiest tax payers. For more information, contact Rachel Burrows at rburrows(at)acorn.org or 202-547-2500. CINCINNATI ACORN OPENSIn November, ACORN opened a new office in Cincinnati, Ohio, marking ACORN’s fourth chapter in the state. New ACORN members in the city will be working on neighborhood campaigns, including neighborhood clean-up and predatory lending. For more information, contact Diedre Murch at 513-258-3097. DONATE TO ACORNMembership dues and chapter-based fundraising programs pay for 75 percent of ACORN's budget. But ACORN also needs financial support from non-member allies, people who do not live in neighborhoods with ACORN chapters but who support the work ACORN is doing. For more information, link to
http://acorn.org/?4 or contact Steve Kest at natexdirect(at)acorn.org or 718-246-7900. ACORN, the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, is the nation's largest community organization of low- and moderate-income families, with over 150,000 member families organized into 700 neighborhood chapters in 51 cities across the country. Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues of concern to our members. Our priorities include: better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building community organizations that have the power to win changes -- through direct action, negotiation, legislation, and voter participation. Check out ACORN's website at http://www.acorn.org.
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Camellia Phillips
ACORN - Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
88 3rd Ave, Floor 3
Brooklyn, NY 11217
phone: 718-246-7900 x227
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