Community Rallies Around Resident's Fight To Save Home
Golden Valley resident Rose McGee will try to save her home and avoid eviction during a court hearing on Jan. 10.
If you don’t know who Rose McGee is, chances are you will soon know her story.
McGee, a long-time Golden Valley resident, is one of many Americans who is facing foreclosure and home eviction.
According to Occupy Homes MN--an organization working to stop foreclosures and evictions--in 2011, McGee lost her job and started to fall behind on her mortgage payments.
In a YouTube video published last November, McGee explains that after enrolling in a mortgage modification program, Citibank sold her home without notice.
“Rose has been a wonderful member of our community for decades and we’d like to keep it that way,” Mayor Shep Harris said in the video, “and we appreciate the community rallying around her and supporting her.”
On Saturday, Jan. 5, McGee and a number of politicians and supporters went on a Twin Cities bus tour and made a number of stop along the way, demanding justice for those struggling with foreclosures. Congressman Keith Ellison and Rep. Mike Freiberg pledged to support McGee in her efforts to keep her house, along with famous rapper Brother Ali and other community members.
In a press release, Occupy Homes MN Communications Coordinator Becky Zosia Dernbach said that the bus tour mimicked the efforts of the Freedom Riders, a group of 1960s civil rights activists who used buses to bring attention to segregation.
On Jan. 10, McGee faces eviction court, but with a community behind her. Ellison recently announced in a press release that he will attend the hearing, noting that he's working in Congress to ensure that affordable housing is a priority.
Golden Valley Patch is following this issue and will provide a series of updates on McGee’s home status.
Elaine Wynne
4:07 am on Friday, January 11, 2013
I definitely support Rose McGee. So many people get in these situations heading toward foreclosure with the loss of a job or health problems and they begin to blame themselves and feel ashamed it's happening. Rose took the courage to step out in public and ask for help of the community. This act is likely to result in a lot of other people being helped. Thank you Rose and Thank you Mayor Harris, Councilmember Clausen, and now Representative Mike Freiberg for being there in the every way you could.