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Hundreds of Homeowners Bring the Foreclosure Crisis to Fed´s Front Door

WASHINGTON, Apr. 14 /PRNewswire/ --

WASHINGTON, April 14 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today, nearly 600 National People's Action (NPA) community leaders will foreclose on the Federal Reserve demanding immediate action by the Fed to save families' homes. The families and communities hit hardest by the mortgage industry meltdown have received nothing but lip service from Fed Chairman, Ben Bernanke.

Every day 8,000 new families fall victim to the foreclosure epidemic resulting from the sharp rise in predatory mortgage lending practices. Paulette Colemon, a homeowner facing foreclosure from Champaign, Illinois, described the nightmare of foreclosure, "It's hard to buy groceries for my five kids and grandson. I've gotten behind on other payments, like the water bill. They shut off the water at our house earlier this week." She concluded, "When I bought a house I thought I would live out the American dream."

Last month Bernanke stated, "This situation [foreclosure crisis] calls for a vigorous response," then Fed worked over the weekend to broker a $30 billion bailout for Bear Stearns, and still nothing has been done to help homeowners. "The private suffering of millions of Americans facing foreclosure is now the public shame of the Fed. Homeowners are in a state of emergency and need more than empty words from the Fed," said Brenda LeBlanc, Co-Chair of National People's Action.

NPA and the Save the American Dream campaign called on Fed Chairman Bernanke to ensure public accountability with all investment bank bailouts, hold the financial industry accountable by requiring loans be made permanently affordable to enable families to stay in their homes, and prevent this crisis from recurring by expanding existing, effective regulation including the Community Reinvestment Act.

WHEN: 9:30 a.m. on Monday, April 14, 2008 WHAT: Foreclosure of the Federal Reserve by NPA WHERE: The Federal Reserve Building 20th Street and Constitution Avenue NW WHO: National People's Action VISUALS: Giant foreclosure banner, banner of 8,000 people facing foreclosure every day, and hand painted posters

About National People's Action

National People's Action (NPA) is a 36-year-old coalition that gathers annually in Washington DC to exercise the time honored tradition of direct action organizing. NPA is a coalition of grassroots organizations from across the country united in the fight for social and economic justice in communities all across this great nation.

NPA builds the power of community organizing through collaborative direct action. NPA transcends geographic boundaries that separate communities to demand national solutions for widespread, local issues. This means strengthening existing regulations, developing national policies, and holding federal policy makers accountable. NPA is an annual event, but all year long, participating local organizations protect public housing, increase access to capital for homeownership, improve public education, protect family farms, increase job opportunities and much more to make communities safer, more stable places for families to thrive.