RICHMOND, CA – On Tuesday, August 10, 2010 CCISCO leaders joined ACCE and SEIU at a press conference at Chase Bank in one of many statewide actions held today to draw attention to the damage Wall Street has caused families in California. Their demand to Chase and other banks was simple: stop foreclosing on families, cancel toxic interest rate swap deals at no cost to taxpayers, and restore small business lending to pre-crisis levels.

"We are here today because California's families continue to pay the price for Wall Street's recklessness," said Vernell Crittendon from ACCE, "And  we are also here to say: enough is enough!," 

Families delivered a "Final Notice" bill to Chase as well as a letter highlighting the cost of unregulated practices that has devastated Richmond and has left the city struggling to keep schools open and create new jobs. This includes $13.9 billion from foreclosures, $50 million from unpaid property taxes, $1.5 billion from toxic interest rate swap deals, and $1.2 billion from job losses and cuts to small business lending. The total, $16.68 billion, comes at a time when Wall Street is paying out more than $140 billion in pay and bonuses while families continue to lose their jobs and homes and teachers, first responders, and health care services are cut.

"Across the state, neighborhoods are reeling from devastating cuts to vital services like health care, education, and public safety that disproportionately impact the most vulnerable people in our communities–seniors, children the disabled, low income households, and communities of color," said CCISCO leader Jose Vega, "To make matters worse, while we are making sacrifices to help the state recover from this economic crisis, the banks are not doing their part to fix it!"

At the conclusion of the press conference, the bank confirmed to families who had gathered that the letter they delivered to Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, was received via fax.

"Because of the banks and their recklessness, I have lost my job and am in jeopardy of losing my home," said CCISCO leader Anthony Allen.  

The letter delivered to Chase will serve to remind the bank that their decisions have a real human impact.

CCISCO and PICO National Network leaders and their allies are continuing to press forward to hold Chase accountable and Wednesday's press conference will be the launch of a new campaign to expose Chase's horrific record and take dramatic action to divest billions of dollars from JP Morgan Chase.
 
At the event, CCISCO will present proposals for reform that will help keep families in their homes and rebuild the neighborhoods that have been devastated by the harmful practices of Chase and other big banks. 

Out of the 600,000 Chase borrowers who were offered trial loan modifications last year through HAMP and the company's own programs, less than 15 percent were approved for a permanent change in terms.  The figures are even more dire looking strictly at HAMP. Only some 7,100 Chase mortgage holders have received permanent modifications out of more than 156,000 trials started under the program, or less than 5 percent (see chart below for modification data by mortgage servicer). In January of this year, JPMorgan Chase, announced fourth-quarter profits of $3.3 billion.   HAMP's overall numbers also underscore banks' blanket resistance to changing mortgages. According to a November report from the Treasury Department, just over 31,000 out of 1 million homeowners who were offered trial modifications received permanent alterations.
 

DATE:  Wednesday, July 28, 2010
TIME:  11:00 am
LOCATION: Chase Bank located at 5050 Broadway, Oakland, CA 94618

DATA TAKEN FROM: http://industry.bnet.com/financial-services/10006200/how-jpmorgan-chase-worsens-the-foreclosure-crisis/

On June 23, over 500 CCISCO and PACT leaders urged the U.S. Treasury  Department to hold banks accountable for modifying loans to stop the foreclosure crisis that continues to devastate our community and economy. 

The Treasury is responsible for implementing President Obama's Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) that promised to help 3-4 million homeowners avoid foreclosure. Fewer than 10% have received permanent loan modifications.

Treasury Policy Director Laurie Maggiano agreed to:

• Make HAMP more inclusive of homeowners in need of loan modifications. 
  
•  
  Get back to PACT in writing within 30 days after taking all the stories, research, and demands for change back to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner

Click here to see a video of the event.

Get Involved! Visit www.ourmoneyourvalues.org to join our divestment campaign.

IN THE NEWS:

Mercury News-Federal Program Aimed at Financially Troubled Homeowners is Failing, San Jose Residents Say

On  Tuesday, June 22 the Oakley Redevelopment Ageny voted in favor of a resolution that brings La Clínica de La Raza one step closer to opening a health clinic by authorizing City Manager Bryan Montgomery to enter a guaranty agreement regarding the lease for the health clinic.

Father Olman Solis, CCISCO Clergy leader and pastor of St. Anthony Catholic Church, spoke before the agency at the meeting, thanking the board members for their continued support of the project that has been a work in progress for five years. He presented the board with a poster inscribed with signatures of many of the church's parishioners as a thank you for its efforts.

Vice Mayor Jim Frazier also informed the audience that Radback Energy, Inc., a company seeking to build a power plant in Oakley, has pledged $5,000 to La Clínica to help bring the much needed clinic to Oakley.

IN THE NEWS:

Contra Costa Times-La Clinica Preparing to Lease Oakley Building

The Press-La Clinica to Offer Health Care in Oakley

On Wednesday, June 23 over 800 CCISCO and PICO leaders in California converged on the State Capitol to call on state officials to make children a priority in our state budget. 

Several youth shared their experiences attending poorly funded schools and spoke to the critical  role community violence prevention and health care programs have made in their lives and lifted up these contradictions:  

• California spends $375 million on youth prisons – the same amount it spent 15 years ago, although the number of youth incarcerated has shrunk by over 80%.

• Healthy Families Program has been cut from $380 million in 2006 to a proposed $114 million this year.

• Education has been cut by $1,000 per student per year over the last 3 years.  California currently only spends $7,400 per student per year.

That day, PICO leaders met with their state legislators as well as key offices throughout the Capitol, including representatives of the State Treasury, where leaders shared their experiences with unscrupulous bank lenders and called upon the state to make banks do their fair share to close the state budget gap.  After that meeting, State Treasurer Bill Lockyer agreed to meet directly with PICO leaders before the end of July.

Click here to see video from the Action in Sacramento.

Concord, CA – On Tuesday, June 22, CCISCO leaders from Queen of all Saints held a press conference and delivered 700 postcards asking Congressman George Miller to support and help move comprehensive immigration reform forward.  

Testimonies were given by faith leaders on the separation of families due to the broken immigration system which highlighted the moral case for comprehensive immigration reform. 

Congressman George Miller issued a statement at the press conference which read:

MILLER STATEMENT ON IMMIGRATION REFORM

"Washington, D.C.  - Rep. George Miller (D-Martinez) today issued the following statement regarding comprehensive immigration reform: 

"Comprehensive immigration reform is an important issue for our country.  As you know, Arizona recently passed legislation that has thrust the issue of immigration into the national spotlight.  And there are some very real concerns about the constitutionality of that law."

"Our country should address the future security of our borders and the well being of all immigrant communities through comprehensive immigration reform, not state-by-state laws.  The people who come to this country for a better life are also contributing to our society to make our country great.  And they shouldn't have to live in fear or be separated from their families.  We must enforce our current laws while working for meaningful reform.  This means the Congress must work toward a comprehensive policy that ensures that people obey American laws and have a path to work toward becoming citizens, that addresses the backlogs and delays in the legal immigration process, and that secures our border.

"I am a strong proponent of comprehensive immigration reform.  I am also a proud co-sponsor of the DREAM Act, which could provide a good first step toward reform by ensuring that children who are simply hoping to go on to college and work toward a better life do not live in fear of being punished by their parents' mistakes."

CCISCO & PICO Leader exposes Chase at Shareholders' Meeting and gains commitment to a meeting with top Mortgage Division Executive

On Tuesday, May 18th, CCISCO Leader and Contra Costa homeowner Jose Vega traveled across the country to participate in Chase Shareholders' Meeting.  Mr. Vega, addressed Chase CEO Jaime Dimon and related this personal struggle to obtain a loan modification through Chase.  After sharing how his house was foreclosed in spite of being eligible for a modification and after making six trial payments, Mr. Vega requested that the CEO meet with community leaders to address these issues.  Mr. Dimon in return, agreed to have his top executive in the Mortgage Division of Chase meet with Mr. Vega and a delegation of CCISCO and PICO leaders. 

"To me this was a moral victory," said Mr. Vega upon returning from New York.  "He finally agreed to have meeting to talk about ways to fix what is obviously a broken system," he added. 

CCISCO and PICO leaders are hopeful that Chase will come to the table to address the bank's inability to help families keep their homes, but will continue to escalate the divestment campaign through our online portal: www.OurMoneyOurValues.org until  Big Banks begin to act in good faith and stop preventable foreclosures.  

Click here to see the follow-up letter to CEO Jamie Dimon

For more information on PICO's national bank accountability campaign visit: www.piconetwork.org

On Sunday, June 6, 2010, CCISCO and other PICO organizations together with the Reform Immigration FOR America campaign are coming together for a day of actions whose focus is to present the moral case for comprehensive immigration reform and to highlight the need for administrative fixes from unfair deportation policies.  Thousands are expected to participate in five actions in five regions in California.  The events are a response to the lack of movement on behalf of the President and the Congress to enact comprehensive immigration reform legislation.

The lack of legislation to fix our broken system of immigration has resulted in individual states considering, or as in the case of Arizona, passing enforcement-only state legislation which does not serve to solve the issue, but instead scapegoats hard working immigrant families.

Both Senators Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer have been invited to attend and support the issue of comprehensive immigration reform as well as stand together with the faith community.  Actions across the country will be echoed in Denver, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York.

The local event will be at Mission High School located at 3750 18th Street in San Francisco and will begin at 3:00 PM

PICO Network Statement on Comprehensive Immigration Reform:

As members of the PICO National Network, we represent over 40 different religious traditions that, while diverse, are united by the principle that every human being is created in God’s image and merits respect.

We call upon our elected representatives in the Senate and in the House to pass comprehensive immigration reform legislation that keeps families together, ensures a pathway to legalization and citizenship, protects due process and workers rights, includes the DREAM Act, and adopts smart and humane enforcement strategies

We are a faith-based network that has a keen remembrance of history. We have witnessed, and been a part of, communities that have suffered dramatically under the rule of draconian enforcement strategies. We believe that no one should live in fear of being stopped and questioned by the police simply because of the color of their skin or the clothes they wear.

Legislation recently signed into law in Arizona that would do precisely this. We don't want to turn back the clock in our nation's progress. We also know that enforcement-only strategies have proven to be ineffective. We refuse to let this happen to fellow members of our faith community . . . our own brothers and sisters. These types of broad enforcement strategies undermine our values and tear our families apart. We value legislation that upholds the rule of law, yet we need legislation that respects our values.

The immigration system as a whole is broken, and we don't need just piecemeal fixes. Our country urgently needs comprehensive immigration reform that lifts up our core faith values including human dignity, family unity, and human rights. We will continue to lift our voices and the stories of our communities to call for just and humane reform.

For more information visit: www.reformimmigrationforamerica.org or www.piconetwork.org

As the SEC reportedly begins criminal probes, community leaders demand that Chase cease abusive bank practices and stop lobbying against financial reform.

CCISCO leader and Pittsburg homeowner Jose Vega is traveling to New York today to participate in Chase's Shareholders' Meeting.  Mr. Vega will represent the thousands of homeowners that share the terrible reality of losing their homes because of the bank's unwillingness to work with families to help them obtain loan modifications. He will address CEO Jaime Dimon and ask that he agree to meet with community leaders to discuss Chase's unwillingness to work in good faith with distressed homeowners and negotiate solutions to help families save their homes. 

Since last year, Chase has advanced foreclosure proceedings on his home four times despite qualifying and applying for a loan modification under the federal HAMP program.  Although he made six timely payments on his trial modification, Mr. Vega was denied a permanent loan modification.  Last month, while he was on the phone negotiating with a bank executive, he received a visit from a Realtor who informed him that his house had been foreclosed on and he had been assigned by the bank to sell it.

"Chase was insincere in their efforts to assist me in keeping my home, most angering is the fact that they stole additional money from me over a course of six months!"states Mr. Vega.
 
Mr. Vega is going to New York City as part of a national action to challenge JP Morgan Chase and CEO Jaime Dimon.  He will be joining many other housing advocates, labor leaders, and homeowners in calling attention to JP Morgan Chase's role in opposing financial reform; failing to keep families in their homes; and deepening the economic crisis.
 
"They have made this the most stressful, frustrating experience of my life, not only for me but for my wife and two children who cry for not knowing whether we will be able to stay in our home or not," said Jose Vega. "We worked hard to achieve the American Dream, and now that dream is being taken away from us by the greed of these big banks."

The event in New York City marks another step in CCISCO and PICO's Bank Accountability Campaign to help keep families in their homes, end predatory lending, and help rebuild our communities after the economic devastation.

CCISCO and PICO Network to begin organizing June 6th Actions across California, Colorado, Massachusetts and New York

Despite the overwhelming sentiment of anger and outrage at the recent SB 1070 law passed, faith and hope are still very much alive in Arizona.  The law has served to create mass confusion and fear within the immigrant community in Arizona, yet a core group of community members who started a 24 hour vigil that has lasted for weeks, prays with and shares their message with each and every person they encounter.

“Tell everyone what you saw here, carry this flame with you and tell them we appreciate their support,” said Rosa Maria, who has been praying since the beginning when only seven people gathered at the Capitol, that number has increased and the message has been carried throughout the country. 

The injustice is not only reserved within SB 1070.  The legislation has given the green light for an anti immigrant sentiment that has ranged from subtle to overt.  Television stations in Phoenix are painting a one sided view of immigrants as criminals and people driving by the Arizona Capitol scream out obscenities as peaceful parishioners pray. 

As a way to stand in solidarity, CCISCO sent organizer, Apolonio Morales, to Phoenix as a way to capture a first-hand account of the injustice and to help organize.  The stories that came back with him underscore the need for comprehensive immigration reform as well as the incredible sense of community.

“Whenever people ran out of food or water at the Capitol,” said Morales, “there was no shortage of donations and no shortage of hope and inspiration.”

That flame and passion for change has reached Contra Costa County.  CCISCO and the PICO Network are planning a day of actions across the state on Sunday, June 6^th.  Here in the Bay Area, PICO affiliates are working together to push for a practical solution to the immigration issue which upholds faith values and denounces Arizona’s draconian approach.

CCISCO will also work in solidarity and follow the example of Arizona residents and the Reform Immigration FOR America who have launched the “Faith. Hope. Vote!” campaign.  Over the next 90 days, the campaign will register thousands of new voters in Arizona to get their voices heard.  CCISCO will begin registering voters and participating in get out the vote strategies for the mid-term elections.

Whether legislation on comprehensive immigration reform is introduced or not, organizations all across the country are moving forward and continue pushing for comprehensive immigration reform.  The stakes are too high especially with SB 1070 being replicated in different states.

Just recently, the Richmond City Council voted unanimously to protest SB 1070 through a resolution introduced by Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Vice-Mayor Jeff Ritterman which prohibits the travel of City staff to Arizona until the unjust law is repealed.  The resolution refers to a previous action by the Richmond City Council on February 6, 2007 reaffirming its support for comprehensive immigration reform that is fair, just and humane, and affirming non-cooperation with ICE. 

Cities are planning similar resolutions all across the country.  The struggle for comprehensive immigration reform continues forward in the face of adversity.

Richmond City Council Resolution on SB 1070

San Francisco—Faith, labor and community groups vowed to step up their efforts to change Wells Fargo’s banking practices after the company’s CEO John Stumpf said no to their requests and the pleas of foreclosure victims at the annual shareholder meeting. “The only way to get Wells Fargo to take us seriously is by organizing our money,” stated Domingo Delgadillo, a leader with CCISCO and the PICO National Network.  “We are prepared to organize more than $10 billion in deposits and accounts with Wells Fargo and move it to financial institutions that will truly serve our interests.”

About 800 people filled the streets of San Francisco's Financial District on Tuesday April 27, marching to Wells Fargo's annual shareholder meeting where they rallied outside as CEO John Stumpf and top executives met with shareholders at the Merchants Exchange Building. A delegation of 20 leaders and foreclosure victims with proxies attended the meeting, demanding changes to corporate practices that have bankrupted families and public coffers. The coalition representing the largest networks of labor, faith-based and community organizations in the country called on Wells Fargo to help families stay in their homes, keep small business open, and access affordable credit instead of funneling millions into the pockets of lobbyists obstructing democracy and fairness. All these requests, delivered personally to the bank’s executives and board of directors inside its shareholder meeting, were met with a no—including Stumpf’s point-blank refusal to meet with coalition leaders to negotiate a solution to these problems.

See the Letter to CEO John Stump Here.

"Wells Fargo's rejection of our reform proposals is an insult to millions of California workers who have suffered at the hands of the big banks," said Art Pulaski. "It's time the banks were held accountable for the economic disaster they created.  We're not going to stop our campaign until Wells Fargo and the other giant financial institutions pay to help rebuild California." “We are here to mourn the loss of things near and dear to our hearts of every American. The loss of jobs, the loss of our homes. Wells Fargo: things are not well with us. Many years ago, bandits would rob the stage coach, but now the stage coach is robbing us!” said Rev. Dr. Mario Howell, clergy leader with Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization and the PICO National Network. “There is a storm of epic proportions that has been raining on California’s communities and communities across the country for over two years now,” said Kimberly S. Jones of the California Reinvestment Coalition in her speech to the shareholders. “By objective standards, Wells has fallen short and can do more—much more.” The coalition called on Wells Fargo to:

• Stop predatory and discriminatory lending by eliminating racial disparities in lending and ceasing to market high-cost loans to people of color, and ending the bank’s payday loan product and financing of payday lenders.
• Keep families in their homes by declaring a moratorium on foreclosures for all owner-occupied homes until it has provided permanent loan modifications to at least 50% of eligible families under the HAMP program; and stopping all evictions of tenants in foreclosed properties.
• Help rebuild neighborhoods by offering bank-owned properties for sale to nonprofit and public agencies for affordable housing instead of to private investors.
• Pay its fair share for economic recovery by investing in good loans and jobs for communities devastated by the foreclosure crisis.

The coalition is urging Congress to pass robust financial regulatory reform and is working with labor unions, churches, cities and individuals to divest $10 billion from Wells Fargo by the end of this year. Across the country, religious congregations, denominations, and labor unions are leading a movement to close accounts and investments with large banks and financial institutions that are not responsive to their demands.

For more information, see www.ourmoneyourvalues.org

The march in San Francisco was the first of a series of major actions this spring to demand big banks start putting America's economic recovery ahead of their oversized profits and bonuses. Thousands of Americans in more than a dozen cities are converging on banks this week, including a huge rally on Wall Street this Thursday. The mobilizations are the largest grassroots demonstrations against Wall Street since 5,000 Americans converged in Chicago last fall in a "Showdown" with the American Bankers Association.

MEDIA COVERAGE:

• Alternet News-Protesters Launch Showdown with Monster Banks, Demand Wells Fargo End Predatory Lending
• ABC 7-Protesters Converge Outside Wells Fargo
• CBS 5-Outraged Homeowners Protest SF Wells Fargo Meeting
• NBC Bay Area-Financial District Host Bank Meeting, Big Protest
• SF Appeal-Over 1000 Expecte to March on Wells Fargo Shareholders Meeting At Noon Today
• People's World-Unions Community to Wells Fargo: We Are Not Your ATM!

Massive Online Mobilization Coincides with Shareholder Meeting Protests in Three Cities

www.OurMoneyOurValues.org

As the Senate takes up financial reform, faith groups are kicking off a grassroots movement to hold big banks accountable – online, and in person with protests on Wall Street and at Bank of America and Wells Fargo's Annual Shareholder Meetings next week.  Faith, labor and community groups will hold protests with thousands of people in New York City, San Francisco, and Charlotte to demand that big banks take responsibility for their role in the financial crisis, keep families in their homes, and invest in communities.  Protestors will be asked to join the “Our Money, Our Values” campaign via text message, and faith groups will reach out to an additional 100,000 people of faith online to join the campaign, which will empower individuals to channel their frustration with the big banks into action to make a  case for struggling families.

This online hub—www.OurMoneyOurValues.org—sponsored by CCISCO, PICO National Network and Faithful America - will amplify the efforts of faith and community groups working to negotiate with big banks by using millions of dollars of individuals’ and congregations’ money as leverage to urge banks to change their harmful practices. The website will bring together individuals, congregations, and organizations that have had enough of banks’ pumping up their profits at the expense of the well-being of local communities.

“The business model of big banks seems to be to make money from squeezing their customers and Wall Street gambling without producing anything of value. It’s time banks become part of making the economy work, not just profiting off of our hard times,” said Rev. Dr. Mario Howell, clergy leader with CCISCO.

Faith groups, along with labor and community groups, will march through San Francisco’s financial district on Tuesday, April 27, arriving at Wells Fargo’s annual shareholder meetings to demand changes from the bank’s top executives and call for an end to practices that bankrupt families and public coffers, while benefiting those most responsible for our economic turmoil.  On Wednesday, April 28, a similar rally will be held at Bank of America’s shareholder meeting in Charlotte, NC and on Wall Street on Thursday, April 29.  

Faith and community leaders at all events will call for banks to stop using their money to lobby against consumer protection; to stop throwing people out of their homes unnecessarily; to get out of the business of payday and other predatory lending; and to make good credit available to help rebuild the economy and put people back to work. Community groups and families will also demand Wall Street stop spending millions fighting financial reform efforts in Congress. Thousands of Americans will join other rallies and demonstrations at bank branches and shareholder meeting over the coming weeks. 

Senator Reid tells thousands that comprehensive immigration reform will be moved up to the top of the agenda with 56 Senators already in support, Senator Durbin echos the need to pass legislation now

San Francisco, CA – After months of organizing, which included 2,000 people marching and rallying in front of Senator Feinstein's office in San Francisco, the Senator has signed on to a letter in support of comprehensive immigration reform with Senator Barbara Boxer which will be delivered to President Obama. 

"[President Obama] has stated that comprehensive immigration reform is an important priority that must be addressed this year, and we agree that Congress should pass bipartisan legislation…We stand ready to address this challenge and are prepared to support bipartisan solutions for the long-term benefit of our nation," said Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein in the letter.

CCISCO leaders rejoiced as the news was released on Friday, April 9, 2010, just one day before Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised to put comprehensive immigration reform at the top of the agenda once congress reconvenes.  At a Las Vegas rally with ten thousand supporters of immigration reform, Senator Harry Reid said "We're going to come back, we're going to have comprehensive immigration reform now…We need to do this this year. We cannot wait."  Similarly at a rally with advocates in Chicago, Assistant Majority Leader Richard Durbin said "We must pass immigration reform, we must pass it this year…I stand in solidarity with you… we will prevail!"

With the momentum building across the nation for comprehensive immigration reform, CCISCO leaders are hopeful that legislation will reach the Senate floor and representatives will take leadership to pass comprehensive immigration reform. 

To underscore the urgency and support for comprehensive immigration reform, Senator Reid added, "I've got 56 Democratic senators, all but 3 would support this…I want a handful of Republicans, a few Republicans, let them step forward. There is no excuse."

Letter to President Obama in Support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform by Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein

New York Times – From Senate Majority Leader, a Promise to Take Up Immigration Overhaul 

WHY ARE WE TAKING ACTION ON APRIL 27TH?

*WELLS FARGO BANK FACT SHEET*

JOIN THE CAUSE! ADD YOUR ORGANIZATION TO OUR ENDORSEMENT LIST

INVEST IN YOUR VALUES, VISIT:

WWW.OURMONEYOURVALUES.ORG

MEDIA COVERAGE

• ABC News-More Banker Outrage: Protesters Plan Marches on Wall Street Banks
  
• The Hill-Unions Get Ready for Wall St. Reform When Congress Returns
  
• The New York Times-Protests Planned for Banks' Shareholder Meetings
• The Huffington Post-Showdown in Wall Street and K Street
  

OVERVIEW

We stand at a crossroads in the history of our country.  We have seen the greatest economy in the world brought to its knees by the reckless greed of the most powerful banks executives in the country.  This is a critical moment to forge a broad-based alliance of faith, labor and community organizations to unite to hold banks accountable and create the political will to bring sweeping financial reform and build a new economy that values families and communities.

THE PROBLEM

Bank of America, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Citibank, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley paid themselves $140 billion last year.  They did this after crashing our economy and taking billions of our tax dollars to bail them out.  They did this after causing 8 million of us to lose our jobs.  They did this after causing over 5 million of us to lose our homes to foreclosure with another 8 or 9 million projected in the coming years.   Yet while all this has been happening, these same banks haven’t done a thing to change the way they do business or lift a hand to fix the mess they created. 

In the past year, Wall Street and the big banks have taken $4.7 trillion from U.S. taxpayers but have failed to pass the benefits on to our communities.  The consequences have been devastating: 6 million lost jobs, $6 trillion in lost homeowner wealth, and up to $58.0 billion in lost annual property taxes.

Americans urgently need solutions, but the banks are not doing their part.  Instead, the banks continue to pay billions in bonuses to their highest-level executives, while cutting back on lending to small businesses, raising consumer fees, and foreclosing on millions more homes.  The actions of the largest banks in the country have also hurt our state and local government budgets, which depend on property and income taxes to fund our basic public services. In California, we have a $26.0 billion deficit. 

It is an understatement to say that our country faces a severe moral crisis when banks hand out billions in bonuses to people who are already millionaires—or even billionaires—and refuses to help hardworking families to stay in their homes or provide loans so that businesses can hire more workers.

CLICK HERE to view the full research report, Bank Accountability: The Key To Keeping Families in Their Homes

THE SOLUTION

We need a powerful agenda that will provide meaningful financial reform, but also restructure our economy.  Here are ten simple things that banks need to do to move our country forward:

1.      Invest in creating jobs for the American worker

2.      Invest in America’s neighborhoods

3.      Stop bankrupting our cities and states

4.      Keep families in their homes

5.      Take responsibility for foreclosed homes

6.      End race-based, predatory lending

7.      Get out of the payday lending business

8.      Commit to green and sustainable practices

9.      Provide safe and affordable credit to our communities

10.  Allow frontline bank workers to sound the alarm on harmful practices.

The United States Congress needs to pass financial reform that will protect ordinary Americans.  But that is not enough.  Bank executives need to stop enriching themselves at the expense of the American people. 

THE STRATEGY

The week of April 25^th a wave of mobilizations are beginning across the country, from San Francisco to Kansas City to Charlotte to New York City.  At all of these events, a broad section of organizations and leaders are presenting a common set of demands to the most powerful financial institutions in the country and demand that they change their corporate practices and policies.  If they do not agree, organizations around the country are poised to launch a massive campaign to organize people and money to pressure them and hold them accountable.  Congregations, religious denominations, unions, pension funds, city and state governments are all poised to move money out of uncooperative banks.  

THE ACTION

This first event will be Tuesday, April 27 in San Francisco, California at the annual shareholder meeting of Wells Fargo Bank.  A procession through the San Francisco Financial District—the center of finance in the western United States—will begin at Justin Herman Plaza at 12:00noon.  The march will be led by a diverse coalition of faith, labor and community leaders and the Wells Fargo stagecoach will pull a coffin to symbolize the death of the American economy and corporate responsibility.  The procession will converge on the Wells Fargo Annual Shareholder meeting at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in the Merchants Exchange Building at 465 California Street in San Francisco. 

A delegation of leaders will go into the shareholder meeting and address the highest ranking executives of the second largest bank in the country.  They will present their demands and the consequences if Wells Fargo does not comply.  They will then march out en masse to the rally waiting outside.  While the delegation is addressing the shareholders and executives, speakers at the rally outside will be providing testimony and research about the devastating impact Wells Fargo and other large banks have had on our communities.  They will also lay out the strategy to hold Wells Fargo and other banks accountable to acting in the interests of the American people. CLICK HERE to view the flyer.

The following day, dozens of CCISCO and PICO leaders from around the country will join with hundreds of leaders in Charlotte, North Carolina at the Bank of America annual shareholder meeting to present their proposals for action.  This is a historic coalition of faith, labor, civil rights, and community organizations that are uniting to help build a new economy. 

WHY ARE WE TAKING ACTION ON APRIL 27TH?

SPONSORING ORGANIZATIONS

AFL-CIO, Alameda Labor Council, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, California Labor Federation, California Reinvestment Coalition, Causa Justa/Just Cause, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, Contra Costa Labor Council, Jobs with Justice (SF Chapter), North Bay Labor Council, Napa Solano Labor Council, PICO National Network, Sacramento Labor Council, San Francisco Labor Council, SEIU, Locals 1000, 1021 and 1877, South Bay Labor Council, Tenants Together, United Health Care Workers West, SEIU-United Health Care Workers West (SEIU-UHWW), Workers United

JOIN THE CAUSE! ADD YOUR ORGANIZATION

TO OUR ENDORSEMENT LIST HERE

CCISCO Leaders Take to the Streets to Urge Senate Action

San Francisco, CA–On Wednesday, March 24, 2010, 250 CCISCO leaders joined BOCA, COR, PACT-San Jose, PIA, and thousands of others for a large march and rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform in San Francisco.  Participants in the march met at Justin Herman Plaza near the Embarcadero BART station and walked down to Senator Dianne Feinstein's Office on Post and Market St. where a rally took place. 

CCISCO leaders marched together holding banners, singing songs, and chanting along as the march grew larger and larger as more and more people joined in.  At Market and Post, the march turned into a rally in front of Senator Dianne Feinstein's district office where every major media outlet in the bay area was waiting.

"We are America," said CARECEN Executive Director, Ana Perez, "We are here in front of Senator Dianne Feinstein's district office to tell her and the Senate that we cannot wait for comprehensive immigration reform."

The march was in solidarity with the recent March FOR America in Washington D.C. held on March 21, which urged the Senate to take action, keep families together and better the American economy.

There were many testimonies shared at the rally including a CCISCO leader from Richmond.

"I was proud to serve my country," said Iraq war veteran and CCISCO leader, "Rodrigo Peregrina, "I am here today as a veteran, a citizen and a voter. I am here to ask Senator Feinstein to stand with our veterans, our families and our community and support comprehensive immigration reform."  Peregrina went on to say that the fear in immigrant communities after the ICE raids has left many hard working people feeling terrorized.  "They are our brothers and sisters and they are not the enemy.  Our government should be bringing families together, not tearing them apart," he added.

• KTVU Channel 2 – Immigration March Aims to bring Heat to Immigration Reform
• KNBC Channel 4 – Noisy Protest Makes Way Through City
• KCBS Channel 5 – SF Protestors Seek Immigration Reform
• KCBS – Radio Report – SF Protestors Seek Immigration Reform
• KABC Channel 7 – Immigration Reform March Leads to Feinstein's Office
• San Francisco Chronicle - Immigrants March on Feinstein Office for Reform
• San Francisco Chronicle – Politics Blog – Kevin Fagan: Feinstein Supports Immigration Reform
• SF Public Press – Protestors Urge Feinstein to Take Lead on Immigration Reform
• SF Appeal – Several Hundred Rally at Senator Feinstein's Office in Favor of Immigration Reform

Parishioners Gather to Build Bridges of Solidarity at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church

Brentwood, CA — On Tuesday, March 16, 2010, CCISCO, in conjuction with the Diocese of Oakland and the Justice for Immigrants Campaign, hosted a Bridge-Building workshop at Immaculate Heart of March Church. Over 50 parishioners from different ethnic backbgrounds attended and participated in the workshop, which was designed to help build bridges between immigrant and non-immigrant communities.  The evening began with a prayer and a video titled "Strangers No More," produced by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). The video is a documentary that conveys the Catholic teachings on immigrants and clearly demonstrates the benefits and importance of a just and equitable immigration reform. 

Following initial reactions to the video, parishioners broke out into small groups, shared and listen to each other's immigration stories, and were able to relate with one another through common faith and values.  This was perhaps the most noteworthy of the evening's events, as it presented the participants with an opportunity to develop and strengthen relationships with fellow parishioners they might otherwise not have interacted with. 

The evening concluded with an update on immigration reform and a summary of what is included in the legislation submitted by Rep. Luis Gutierrez by Mark Silverman of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center.  Sister Joanne, PhD, from the Franciscan School of Theology in Berkeley also made a presentation on how the Catholic faith and traditions called on the faithful to have compassion for all their brothers and sisters, foreign or not.

Earlier that week, CCISCO Leaders collected 1,500 postcards for the Justice for Immigrants Campaign at Immaculate Heart of Mary which will be sent to Senators Boxer and Feinstein and local Congressional Representatives.  The Campaign is a project of the USCCB  to educate the public about Church teaching on migration and immigrants as well as to help create political will for positive immigration reform. You can fill out an electronic postcard here.

For more information on the Justice for Immigrants Campaign visit: www.justiceforimmigrants.org

Center for American Progress Report: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

Senators Urged to Take Leadership to Move Legislation Forward

Richmond, CA–On Sunday, March 21, 2010, CCISCO leaders signed up over two hundred parishioners at St. Mark's Church for a large march and rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform being held in San Francisco.  The march in San Francisco is in solidarity with the recent March FOR America in Washington D.C. in which 500,000 people marched including the PICO National Network.  CCISCO will fill five buses (four from Richmond and one from Concord) who will attend the march and rally scheduled for March 24 at the Justin Herman Plaza near the Embarcadero BART station.Buses will be leaving from the following locations in Richmond:

• St. Mark's Church, 159 Harbour Way, Richmond, CA @ 3:00 PM
• Richmond Public Library, 325 Civic Center Plaza @ 3:30 PM
• Meadow Homes School, 1371 Detroit Avenue, Concord, CA @ 2:30 p.m

Participants in the march will leave Richmond at 3:00 p.m. and Concord at 2:30 p.m. on buses and gather in San Francisco along with thousands of other marchers at 4:00 p.m.  The march will begin at 4:30 p.m. and head down Market Street where a rally organized in front of Senator Dianne Feinstein's district office is set to begin at 5:00 p.m. Momentum has increased as both Senator Schumer (D – New York) and Lindsey Graham (R – South Carolina) have introduced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform which they call the "four pillars" which include: requiring biometric Social Security cards; fulfilling and strengthening commitments on border security and interior enforcement; creating a process for admitting temporary workers; and implementing pathways to legalization for those already here. President Obama fully endorses the effort to overhaul the current immigration law and has applauded Senators Schumer and Graham.  Leadership from California's own Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein on the issue of comprehensive immigration reform, however, remains to be seen.  For this reason, the goal of the march is to create the public will and momentum to get support for pending legislation.

CCISCO Leader Suzanne Marchant will represent CCISCO and the PICO National Network in a meeting of leaders from CCISCO,PICO and National People’s Action (NPA) with Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Tuesday in Washington, DC. Bernanke is the most powerful official on economic issues in our country.

This meeting is a major step in CCISCO and PICO’s Bank Accountability Campaign and will be taking place just two weeks after CCISCO and PICO Leaders met with Barbara Desoer, President of Home Loans, Mortgage and Insurance for Bank of America and addressed CEO Brian Moynihan at the Shareholders’ Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

At this meeting, Bernanke will be asked to strengthen two laws:

1. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) so that it regulates and review all the lending done by banks and not just lending in areas banks have branches in.

2. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA)–This is data on who gets loans that banks are require to collect. Because more people now have access to loans but many of them are “bad loans”, we need changes to collect data on what kind of loans are offered to what kind of people based on where they live, their income, their racial background to see whether lending is “fair” or not.

On Thursday, February 25, CCISCO Leaders attended a health care summit Watch Party at the CCISCO Office in Martinez. The watch party was an opportunity for leaders to see a summary of President Obama’s Summit on Health Care Reform as well as develop plans to address health care access at a local and national level.

CCISCO Leaders have been working tirelessly to increase access to healthcare at a local, county, state, and national level and their efforts have paid off. In Oakley, CCISCO Leaders are working on the final steps to obtain a clinic in that city. At a national level after holding a town hall meeting with Congressman George Miller last summer, CCISCO helped secure an affordability standard in the final healthcare reform legislation.

The urgency for healthcare reform and the budget cuts that our county faces was the focus of the health care meeting which triggered leaders to begin formulating strategies to adress these issues and help prevent further cuts that will decrease access to healthcare.

Official PICO Statement on the Health Care Reform Bill

Media Coverage:

Contra Costa Times-Contra Costa Faith Group To Host Health Care Summit Watch Party

The New York Times-Large Coalition of Faith Groups Urges Passage of Health Bill

On Tuesday, February 23, a delegation of PICO and CCISCO leaders, together with allies from other faith-based and consumer advocacy organizations, met with Barbara Desoer, President of Home Loans, Mortgage and Insurance at Bank of America, to discuss concrete strategies that the bank can take to prevent more of its borrowers from needlessly losing their homes.

“After months of talking with Bank of America, I appreciated being able to speak face-to-face with Ms. Desoer because she and CEO Brian Moynihan have the power to change the bank’s corporate policies to keep our families in their homes and protect our communities,” said Ken Kelly, a CCISCO leader from Antioch who participated in the meeting.

At the meeting, PICO and CCISCO leaders discussed proposals to stop all foreclosure proceedings until Bank of America reached clear benchmarks for placing eligible families into permanent loan modifications, as well as ideas for increasing the number of principal reductions performed by the bank.

Afterwards, PICO clergy leader Rev. Lucy Kolin spoke at the special shareholders meeting to vote on the sale of additional stock to repay Bank of America’s TARP loan from the federal government. Read the full statement here.

“Bank of America has the power to help lead our country from the depths of economic recession,” said Rev. Kolin to Bank of America’s CEO, board, and shareholders. “But to do so, you need to take bolder action. You need to create real change that the American people can see and feel.”

The meeting in Charlotte came on the same day that the Los Angeles City Council discussed legislation that would set community standards for banks with which the city does business. Reckless financial practices by big banks led to deep recession that has devastated the budgets of local and state governments. With Los Angeles facing a $212 million budget gap that would force cuts to much needed city programs and services, this legislation would ensure that taxpayer money only be invested in banks that met criteria that ensured its contribution to the economy. This would include putting a moratorium on home foreclosures and meeting a minimum number of permanent mortgage modifications.

If passed, the measure could have a significant impact on Bank of America, where Los Angeles deposits a large share of city finances.

“While we are glad that Bank of America has begun to show us that they are serious about addressing the underlying policies and practices causing so many to lose their homes, we need measures like those being considered by the city of Los Angeles to keep the pressure on and make banks compete for our money,” said Carol Delorey, a PICO leader from Brockton, Massachusetts who attended the meeting with Ms. Desoer in Charlotte.

PICO and CCISCO plan to continue engaging with Ms. Desoer and other senior executives in Bank of America to move forward specific policy proposals that would dramatically increase the number of permanent, sustainable loan modifications. A delegation of clergy and leaders will also attend the bank’s April shareholder meeting to continue pressing for aggressive action. PICO has also asked the U.S. Treasury to fine Bank of America $80 million dollars for its failure to provide permanent loan modification to more than a small fraction of eligible homeowners.

Media Coverage:

BNET-Bank of America Faces Wrath of God

Channel 36 News- Bank of America Shareholders Lash Out During Meeting

BNET-LA Lawmaker Threatens Banks Over Foreclosures

On Saturday, February 20, 2010, CCISCO leaders hosted a town hall meeting at Ygnacio Valley High School in Concord that was attended by hundreds of ccommunity members. The event brought together a broad coalition of supporters from the faith, labor, and academic community as part of a larger national push to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. The Offices of Congressmen George Miller and John Garamendi sent representatives to listen to the community and carry back the message.

“Immigration reform affects everyone, immigrants and non-immigrants alike,” said Diablo Valley College Student Keith Montes as he explained the purpose of the town hall. Leaders presented research that highlighted the importance of comprehensive immigration reform and urged the audience to continue being involved and calling their Congressional Representatives and Senators to get immigration reform passsed this year. Following three powerful testimonies, the crowd broke out in cheers when they heard the commitment from the two field representatives, who expressed their support and promised to communicate to the Congressmen that the community wanted to see comprehensive immigration reform passed.

“These changes are not going to happen overnight, it is going to take years for some of these changes to happen; that is why we all need to work together, build alliances and continue to stay involved,” CCISCO Leader Gabriela Baños-Galvan told the crowd before she adressed the field representatives from Congressmen George Miller and John Garamendi’s Office. Although both Congressmen have yet to co-sponsor HR 4321, the bill for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, they both expressed their support for comprehensive immigration reformthe representatives agreed to update us within the next 30 days on whether Rep. Miller and Garamendi would be officially co-sponsoring the legislation.

Congressman George Miller’s Statement on the Introduction of Comprehensive Immigration Reform Legislation

Center for American Progress: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

On Saturday, February 20, 2010, CCISCO Leaders will host a town hall meeting at Ygnacio Valley High School (755 Oak Grove Road in Concord, CA 94518) from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. The purpose of this event is to bring together a diverse and broad coalition of supporters from the business, faith, labor, law enforcement, and agricultural community as part of a larger national push to pass comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. The Offices of Congressman George Miller and John Garamendi have confirmed their participation at the event.

There are approximately twelve million undocumented immigrants in the United States. For years, they have lived invisibly in our system, but not in our society. They work and provide services to Americans, they worship in our churches, they shop in our stores, and their children, often American citizens, attend our schools. These more than twelve million people, are not only part of our society and culture, but contribute immensely to our economic infrastructure through their labor and income taxes.

Comprehensive immigration reform is supported by a broad cross-section of business, labor, law enforcement, and faith communities who recognize its importance to keeping our communities productive and safe, ensuring fairness to workers and employers, and upholding family and community values. Support for comprehensive immigration reform is also broad, deep, and bipartisan. Polls conducted by Benenson Strategy Group in June and December 2009 showed that two-thirds of voters supported comprehensive immigration reform, including 69 percent of Democrats, 67 percent of Independents, and 62 percent of Republicans.

Fixing our immigration system will not only keep families together but it will also promote economic growth and stability. According to a study by the Center for American Progress, immigration reform will add a cumulative $1.5 trillion to the GDP over 10 years by lifting the wage floor for all workers. Immigration reform cannot wait. A legislative standoff would mean an unacceptable status quo where unscrupulous employers win, communities live in fear, and hard working families continue to be separated.

CCISCO is an active member in the PICO National Network and the Reform Immigration for America campaign. PICO is a national network of faith-based community organizations with more than 1,000 member institutions representing one million families in 150 cities and 17 states. The Campaign to Reform Immigration for America is a united national effort that brings together individuals and grassroots organizations with the mission to build support for workable comprehensive immigration reform.

Center for American Progress:

The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform

View the Flyer below:

On Friday, January 22, 2010, thirty CCISCO leaders convened for the first Countywide Leadership Summit of 2010 at Walker Creek Ranch in Petaluma.

The diverse group came from West, Central and East Contra Costa representing CCISCO’s local organizing committees (LOC) and their collective interests. They shared with each other, worked side by side to develop strategies as well as nominated and elected officers to serve on the CCISCO Board of Directors.

The new CCISCO Board Members were voted on by the Countywide Leadership Summit to strengthen the organization and its direction as they move forward into 2010. Those elected to serve on the CCISCO Board of Directors are as follows:

Anthony Allen-Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council, Richmond, CA

Domingo Delgadillo-Holy Rosary LOC, Antioch, CA

2010 will be pivotal year for Foreclosure, Health Care, Education, Immigrant Integration, Jobs, and Violence Prevention. Within the coming month, CCISCO representatives will be organizing their regional Leadership Summits to sharpen their strategies and present them to the Countywide Leadership Summit in the summer to increase the capacity of existing organizing.

Click here to view the 2010 CCISCO Leadership Summit Summary.

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010 CCISCO Leaders gathered outside the office of Congressman George Miller to pray for a fair and workable comprehensive immigration reform in 2010. Over 40 leaders gathered in support of a reform that includes paths to citizenship, family unification, and enhanced security measures.

CCISCO leaders also delivered over 600 postcards to Congressman George Miller’s District Office in support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform and asked that the representative champion the issue.

Comprehensive immigration reform would:

*Create millions of new taxpayers by requiring undocumented immigrants to register, go through background checks, pay taxes, and study English on their way to becoming full U.S. citizens

*Enhance our national security by focusin our enforcement and security measures on the most dangerous threats to our communities

*Protect workers and help with economic recovery

*Keep families together

*Protect the due process rights of all

In addition, CCISCO leaders also delivered a letter thanking Congressman Miller for championing the importance of affordability during the healthcare reform debate over the last few months. As part of a larger movement to pass immigration reform, CCISCO will also host a townhall meeting on February 20, 2010 with the purpose of bringing together a cross-section of labor, business, academic, and other community members in support of Comprehensive Immigration Reform. The offices of Congresman George Miller and John Garamedi have been invited.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Helps American Economy:

Center for American Progress Report on the Benefits of Passing Immigration Reform

On Tuesday, January 12, 2010, a delegation of clergy and community leaders from CCISCO and PICO National Network, together with National People’s Action and SEIU, met with senior executives from Bank of America in Antioch, California to demand that they act more swiftly and aggressively to keep families in their homes, end predatory lending, and invest in our communities.

Over 50 witnesses from organizations representing tens of millions of people around the country stood around the negotiating table to witness the session, including the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), National Association of Latino Elected Officials (NALEO), AFSCME, National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), California Province of the Society of Jesus, California Endowment, Congressman John Garamendi, and local and state governments.

Next door, hundreds of community residents from across the San Francisco Bay Area gathered next door to pray, give testimony and hear a report of the results of the negotiation.

“Bank of America had nothing – no new ideas or proposals to offer to keep families in their homes and end the suffering in our communities,” said Rev. Lucy Kolin, from Oakland Community Organizations and PICO National Network, who led the negotiation session. “We offered them a clear statement of the bottom line: Keep people in their homes. Do no harm. Put in place a moratorium so that Bank of America can get its act together and stop hurting our families and our communities. We went into this meeting willing to be hopeful, but we were disappointed. We will not let disappointment end our commitment.”

“We are moving forward on our campaign to get our families, our congregations, our denominations, our local and state governments, and other institutions to divest from Bank of America,” announced Gina Gates, a PICO leader from People Acting in Community Together in San Jose, CA.

Anna Tellez, a member of the pastoral council at St. Ignatius Catholic Church in Antioch that decided last month to divest from Bank of America, told the crowd, “Members of our parish, members of communities, are losing their homes. Meanwhile, Bank of America has made less than 100 permanent loan modifications nationwide. This is unacceptable. As a parish, St. Ignatius of Antioch used to be an investor in Bank of America, but last month we decided to divest our funds. We as a faith community decided to do this, and we invite you to do the same.”

PICO and NPA leaders also announced their decision to send delegations of clergy and community leaders to visit Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan and members of the Board of Directors of Bank of America, including Board Chair Dr. Walter E. Massey and Monica Lozano of La Opinion. This past Saturday, a delegation of PICO leaders from Brockton Interfaith Community in Brockton, Massachusetts hand delivered a letter to Mr. Moynihan at his home outside Boston, outlining PICO’s proposals.

In addition, PICO announced that it will be petitioning the Treasury Department to investigate and begin imposing financial penalties on Bank of America and other banks that are failing to comply with the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable Program. Across America, families who are eligible for loan modifications under the Making Home Affordable Program continue to receive auction notices.

In Texas, Bank of America foreclosed on a family that was current on their payments. The family discovered this mistake when they returned from work to find they were locked out of their home. “Bank of America needs to feel the urgency of this crisis and completely halt all foreclosure proceedings and auctions until they get their house in order,” state Nylton Andrade, leader from PICO affiliate Brockton Interfaith Community and the Massachusetts Communities Action Network who flew across country to participate in the negotiations. “We are calling Secretary Geithner to impose severe financial sanctions until Bank of America halts these egregious practices.”

Stella Adams, Board Member for the North Carolina chapter of the NAACP and National Community Reinvestment Coalition, told the crowd that, “In this struggle for financial justice, we are reminded of the parable of the persistent widow, who every day went to an unjust judge and said, “Give me justice against my adversary” The parable tells us that the unjust judge eventually became weary of her and gave her justice. This is what we need to do. We need to weary Bank of America.”

“Just as Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt, it is time to lead an exodus of our money from Bank of America. It is time to go to a bank which will serve us,” echoed Rev. Dr. Mario Howell, pastor of Antioch Church Family and clergy leader with PICO affiliate Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization. “We are going to stand and fight, we are going to fight with our money.”

Moving forward, PICO leaders and allies will begin collecting divestment pledges from individuals, congregations, denominations, local governments, and other organizations and are calling for a national day of action to coincide with the Bank of America annual shareholders meeting in late April.

“As an investor whose retirement has been devastated by Bank of America practices, I am outraged that they continue with their reckless practices that are destroying our communities and harming our families,” stated Aurora Solis, leader with PICO affiliate People Acting in Community Together in San Jose and a public school employee whose retirement fund is with CALPERS.

Media Coverage:

The Boston Globe- Putting Their Faith Into the Foreclosure Fight

The New York Times- A Deal With Bank of America Is in Their Prayers

The Huffington Post- Faith Leaders To Move Their Money Out Of Bank Of America Unless Demands Are Met

After a successful protest in San Francisco, Bank of America Senior Executives have agreed to meet with CCISCO and PICO leaders on January 12, 2009 at Holy Rosary Church in Antioch for national loan modification negotiations. With only a pitiful 98 permanent loan modifications across the country, Bank of America has fallen short of fulfilling their bailout promises.

For this reason, St. Ignatius Church made the decision to close their account with Bank of America to protest their horrific track record of failing to keep families in their homes and for the widespread human suffering that it has caused. The announcement was made at a press conference held at the Bank of America branch in Antioch, CA. Thirty community residents had gathered with clergy, pastors and faith leaders from the Baptist, Catholic and Muslim community.

“The largest banks in the United States, which have a complex system for penalizing people for submitting their mortgages just a few minutes late, should also be able to put together a functioning plan to help people stay in their homes and keep paying their mortgages,” said Fr. Rien of St. Ignatius Church to those gathered in front of the bank, “It is time to hold banks accountable and restore integrity and morality to our financial system.”

Moments before receiving word from Bank of America about the upcoming meeting, Fr. Rien of St. Ignatius had decided to withdraw church funds. Instead, he will wait and see if Bank of America holds true to the scheduled meeting. If the negotiations are not successsful, Fr Rien will withdraw all of the $100,000 in church funds from Bank of America.

“We are going to no longer allow Bank of America to use our money to exploit and abuse our families–we say enough is enough,” said Fr. Rien, and the critical moment is now to stop the abuse begins with negotiations with the Senior Executives. “We are calling on Barbara Desoer, President of Bank of America Home Loans and Insurance, to stop foreclosing on our families, we are calling on her to hear the call of conscience and negotiate in good faith to put an end to this crisis.”

CCISCO believes that it is critical for the faith community to play a prophetic role in denouncing these practices that are destroying communities such as Antioch. With record bonuses expected to be in the billions this year, Bank of America continues to shortchange families across the country who qualify for loan modifications. Families have been taking the hit for the collapse of our economic system which has led to millions of lost jobs and an ongoing foreclosure crisis.

Catholic parishes are not the only institutions of faith who are taking a serious look at the divestment strategy. “This morning before our church secretary could walk out the door to deposit Sunday’s collection at the Bank of America branch next door, I cried out: Wait a minute!” said Rev. Dr. Mario Howell of Antioch Church Family, “Every Monday morning, hundreds of thousands of congregations across the country make those same deposits–It is high time that we begin to organize our own money.”

Bank of America bonus compensation is expected to reach $32.2 billion, to put it into practical terms this money could potentially:

-Prevent or postpone 92% of all foreclosures projected to take place in the entire country in 2009-2012 by providing mortgage payment assistance to struggling families. A total of 8.3 million families.

-Provide mortgage payment assistance to all 2.3 million families that lost their homes in 2008, helping them prevent or postpone foreclosure.

-Buy back 181,200 homes that were foreclosed in 2008 outright and let the homeowners live there for free.

“The greatest tragedy of this crisis is that Bank of America shares the name of our great country,” stated Mohammad Chaudry, President of the Islamic Center of the East Bay. “America stands for truth and justice, not the rampant greed that Bank of America is exhibiting. It is a tragedy that banks have forgotten that they were founded as institutions of charity, not greed.”

If Bank of America continues to destroy communities and ignore families who qualify for modifications, Fr. Rien will not be the only one closing an account at Bank of America, CCISCO is prepared to move ahead with a divestment campaign which has support from local public officials and county representatives.

The meeting with the executives is a result of a busload of families from Antioch who descended on the Bank of America branch in downtown San Francisco on Friday, December 11, to deliver a simple letter requesting the meeting. Before they could get a response, the bank called for paddywagons to arrest their very own customers.

“It is horrific that Bank of America would threaten to arrest it’s own customers,” said CCISCO leader and Bank of America customer Suzanne Marchant. “This is our money. It is completely reasonable that we wait to receive written confirmation that Ms. Desoer has received our letter. Given their track record of losing families paperwork, we have no choice!” To view video from CCISCO leaders in San Francisco and a Fr. Rien highlight on ABC 7, follow the links below.

ABC 7 – Homeowners Demand Help for Loan Modifications

ABC 7 – East Bay Priest Fights Foreclosure Crisis

With record bonuses expected to be in the billions this year, Bank of America and Wells Fargo continue to shortchange families across the country who qualify for loan modifications. Families have been taking the hit for the collapse of our economic system which has led to millions of lost jobs and an ongoing foreclosure crisis.

“Greed is evil, and we won’t stand for it particularly when Wells Fargo and Bank of America are paying out these obscene bonuses during a time when hundreds of thousands of families are waiting for them to do the right thing and begin making permanent modifications to bad loans,” said CCISCO leader Nelly Rubio to the surrounding protestors who were enduring the rain and cold.

To make matters worse, according to the recent Washington Post article “Foreclosure relief program is stuck in first” released the same day of the protest, Bank of America has a total of 100 permanent loan modifications, a mere fraction to the more than 780,000 families facing foreclosure under the HAMP program. Wells Fargo’s numbers are slightly higher and hardly impressive with a total of 3,500 permanent loan modifications.

“We will continue to escalate our Bank Accountability campaign and encourage people, churches, and government agencies to pull their money out of Bank of America and Wells Fargo,” said CCISCO leader Ken Kelly, “Our community demands that we have financial institutions that are ethical, humane, and responsible.”

There are thousands of families who qualify for a loan modification that have continued to wait patiently as banks lose their paperwork, put their homes on the auction block, remove their homes from the auction block, and prolong an otherwise straightforward process for loan modification. Bank of America claims that the consolidation of their internal systems and lack of communication between departments is causing many of the problems. These communication problems, however, have led to the foreclosure and eviction of hundreds of thousands of eligible families.

CCISCO leader Suzanne Marchant gave some staggering data during the research report, “Bank of America has large numbers of borrowers now at risk of losing their homes, and they are giving loan modifications to fewer than 5% of the almost 1 million people who are eligible.”

When the press conference was finished and began entering their own banks, CCISCO leaders were denied entrance and had the police called on them as they attempted to deliver a letter to Bank of America President of Home Loans and Insurance Barbara Desoer and Wells Fargo’s Chief Executive John Stumpf to local branch managers.

Despite the peaceful demonstration of the people of faith who had gathered, two police vans were called in. CCISCO leaders chanted, “We love the police!” as the police increased in number and brought in zip ties. As the energy and tension increased at both banks, these letters were delivered with a confirmation from Bank of America that a face to face meeting would be scheduled with Barbara Desoer within the next 30 days. Scoring a big win for families across the country.

Community members, churches and local government look to withdraw their money from banks who continue these unethical practices. As an example of this type of strategy, CCISCO member St. Ignatius Church in Antioch has started the divestment process and will close their Bank of America account on Monday, December 14, 2009.

On October 19, the Pittsburg City Council voted to stop the Planning Commission from removing up to 200 affordable homes from the City’s plan for a new transit village around the BART extension into Pittsburg.

The City’s plan, which was also approved on October 19, locates up to 2,500 new homes near the future Railroad Ave eBART station, along with a mix of new shops, services, and parks.

Due to strong involvement by TransForm, CCISCO and others, the plan places 30% of the 2,500 new homes in designated affordable housing opportunity sites, ensuring that teachers, young families, seniors, and others will be able to afford homes near the future station.

In the final weeks before the plan was adopted by the Pittsburg City Council, some opposition on the Planning Commission tried to get rid of up to 200 affordable homes by removing the largest of the affordable housing opportunity sites from the plan.

TransForm organized a quick response from Greenbelt Alliance, La Clinica, and Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) – and galvanized residents – to denounce the Planning Commission’s action at the October 19th Public Hearing and convince the City Council to keep the homes in the plan, as well as look for new opportunities to increase public park space for the neighborhood. The City is now in talks with a nearby school and sports complex to create new park space.

In addition to this victory, we won several other important policies in the plan, including:

-Improved bus service in the area;

-Improved pedestrian access between the future BART station and new development;

-Strong traffic demand management measures, including parking maximums, shared parking, and more; and

-A new youth center in the transit village area.

During the four-year planning process, CCISCO leaders worked with TransForm, La Clinica and other partners to engage low-income residents and residents of color to get community needs addressed in the plan.

We held educational events, including a Transit-Oriented Development 101 workshop and a bus tour of affordable housing near BART stations in other cities. CCISCO leaders held two Town Hall meetings with a total attendance of over 250 residents to highlight community needs around affordable housing, transportation, and youth opportunities. And we held countless meetings with City Councilmembers, City staff, and Planning Commissioners to work out policy solutions that will create a vibrant, walkable community in Pittsburg that is both equitable and sustainable.

Richmond, CA-Last month, Gwendolyn Goodbeer’s brother, Clyde Ralph Smith was killed in Richmond. His hands and feet were bound, he was brutally beaten, stabbed and his apartment set on fire. Though he barely escaped the fire, he died later at the hospital due to the severity of the blows he received. A kind and gentle man’s life had ended.

Gwendolyn Goodbeer is taking her grief and putting her faith into action. “A fire is burning in my spirit and I want to join others in this fight,” she said, “I’ve been apart from the problem of violence in my city for too long.”

She is not alone.

More than 300 diverse community residents gathered at Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church on November 19, 2009 and addressed the issue of violence in Richmond by focusing on the creation of jobs, training and mentoring programs. The action was organized by CCISCO leaders which from St. Mark’s Catholic Church, Easter Hill United Methodist Church, and the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council.

The goal for the town hall action was to have both the community and public officials commit to work towards changing the culture of violence in Richmond. The current unemployment rate for Richmond is 17% leaving families to struggle in poverty and many Richmond residents and youth with little or no opportunity. The mantra repeated throughout the night was simple, “Nothing stops a bullet like a job.”

“Refineries lay off local people and hire people from other states, this is not fair to our families or our community,” said CCISCO leader Jesus Hermosillo, “We only have the pollution here. We need our local government to find solutions to create jobs here in Richmond.”

Public officials agreed to all of CCISCO’s proposals. Mayor McLaughlin committed to introducing legislation that energy upgrades be required on homes as part of real estate sale or foreclosure with the potential of creating many jobs for the community in the long run.

City Manager Bill Lindsay agreed to work with residents to develop the code of conduct and provide security at parks with a high incidence of crime. He also agreed to convene the owners of all publicly subsidized multi-family dwellings within the next sixty days to hold them accountable for effective security and enforcing a code of conduct. This approach has worked in the neighboring Atchison Village in the Iron Triangle which has seen violence drop dramatically.

During the meeting both African American and Latino residents shook hands and welcomed each other. “We have the power in this room to make change,” said Richmond Chief of Police Chris Magnus, “We know that when people get out of their homes and start talking with their neighbors, it makes a huge difference.”

Together, with the proposals presented by CCISCO leaders and the commitments made by public officials, the difference between a violent and vibrant Richmond begins now.

Below is the list of CCISCO proposals:

1) CONGREGATION and COMMUNITY OUTREACH

MENTORING PROGRAM: We are proposing to establish a mentoring program to lift up our young people and which would have an initial focus at Kennedy and Richmond High Schools. We are proposing to develop a partnership with congregations; school district; Office of Neighborhood Safety; and Contra Costa College. We are requesting funding support and training through Office of Neighborhood Safety and want to help design the program in partnership with the Office of Neighborhood Safety; West Contra Costa Unified School District; and Contra Costa College. CCISCO member congregations are committed to recruiting 50 volunteers to receive training to become mentors.

2) PUBLIC SAFETY

Work with the community and neighborhood councils to develop a clear code of conduct to be established and enforced at all participating parks.

Provide security at all parks with identified public safety issues.

Convene all multi-family management companies receiving public subsidy within the next sixty days, including the Richmond Housing Authority, and hold them accountable for providing effective security and enforcing a code of conduct.

Work with CCISCO members and the Iron Triangle Neighborhood Council to apply for funding to develop a program to green blighted public land and employ local youth for a summer community gardening initiative.

We also want to see a greater degree of communication and accountability from the Richmond Police Department and Contra Costa District Attorney to the community around their strategies for public safety and prosecution of violent crimes.

3) JOB TRAINING

Develop congregational partnership to use churches as job training sites and to recruit congregational members to participate in ongoing energy efficiency programs.

The City of Richmond should establish a dedicated revenue source to support job training programs and partner with the West Contra Costa Unified School District to expand vocational training at Richmond and Kennedy High Schools. Some potential opportunities for funding include dedicating 2% of all funding for capital projects towards job training and dedicating Measure T funding towards job training.

4) QUALITY JOBS

Expansion of energy efficiency programs to create new jobs through adopting the following proposals:

- Work with CCISCO leaders and our partners to develop legislation to require energy upgrades linked to foreclosures along with any home sales;

- Hire 100 youth this summer to conduct community outreach program for financing options for energy efficiency;

Strengthen local employment programs for school district, city, and community college district. Some potential ways to improve the local employment programs are:

- Improve reporting, monitoring, and enforcement.

- Strengthen the local employment program by making hiring targets for permanent jobs a requirement and not simply a goal.

- Involve community stakeholders in negotiations for all upcoming project labor agreements to develop strategies to improve community access to employment.

Antioch – On Friday, November 6, 2009, a delegation of twenty CCISCO leaders and clergy, along with OCO and PACT-San Jose leaders, met with representatives from Bank of America to negotiate concrete solutions to the foreclosure crisis. As the negotiation took place, 100 families with Bank of America loans waited anxiously in the Fr. Vicente Dominican Hall at Holy Rosary Church for the results.

“If we don’t get satisfaction, we will move forward without the bank,” said CCISCO leader Domingo Delgadillo, “We will contact the Attorney General. We will have cities move their money from Bank of America and start demonstrations at the local branches.”

Negotiations focused on the low number of eligible modifications on behalf of Bank of America which is leaving many families facing foreclosures that can be prevented. PICO Bay Area leaders met with Tiarzha Taylor, Vice President of Home Preservation for Bank of America and Ximena Delgado, Senior Vice President for Community Investment.

At the meeting, Tiarzha Taylor committed to taking all of the leaders recommendations to senior Bank of America decision-makers, including Barbara Desoer, Vice President of Mortgage Lending for Bank of America. Bank of America also designated a point person to expedite families loan modification requests. They also agreed to provide detailed information about the Bank of America’s servicing portfolio over the last three years in Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and Alameda counties including: baseline lending; investment; charitable contributions; defaults; option-arms; modifications; denials; and real-estate owned properties.

It is increasingly evident that Bank of America is not working fast enough to increase the number of total modified loans. Some homeowners, like Nelly Rubio who qualify for a loan modification have continued to receive letters with a new foreclosure date despite having submitted all necessary documents for a loan modification. Families are increasingly frustrated and are beginning to feel as if they are being strung along with no end in sight. This frustration is turning into direct action.

In the past year, Wall Street and large banks have taken $4.7 trillion from U.S. taxpayers but have failed to pass the benefits onto our communities. Bank of America has started trial mortgage modifications for only 14% of its nearly one million borrows who are eligible for the Making Home Affordable Program and has proven inept at handling borrowers concern.

The families who were waiting inside the Domincan Hall listened to a presentation on the timeline of both the “Stop Preventable Foreclosures” and “Bank Accountability” campaigns which have been ongoing for the past year and a half. CCISCO leaders urged those present to get involved and received commitments to have everyone join the fight.

Another strategy is the divestment strategy which is creating the leverage necessary to hold banks accountable at the local and county level. Public officials have committed to drafting resolutions to divest from banks not working in good faith with families. If Bank of America continues to foreclose on families who qualify for loan modifications, then cities, counties and congregations across the region will take their money elsewhere.

“We really accomplished a lot tonight,” said Mercy Martinez, who represented PACT-San Jose in the negotiations. “We in San Jose have been working on this issue and we’re ready to protest at the banks if necessary.”

Should Bank of America continue to ignore the struggle of families facing foreclosure, then the organizing will continue to escalate and the divestment will begin.

PICO Bay Area Demands for Bank of America

1. Halt all foreclosure proceedings for families who are currently eligible for a loan modification under the HAMP program across the country;

2. Suspend all auctions in Contra Costa, Alameda, and Santa Clara Counties for the next 90 days to allow for negotiations to occur and establish a 45-day maximum time period to respond to loan modification request;

3. Designate a point person to negotiate with our family delegations;

4. Incorporate principal reductions, which are allowable under HAMP, and not just interest rate reductions, to make loan modifications more affordable and sustainable;

5. Provide transparent reports on the terms and demographics of loan modifications granted;

6. Create an appeals process that includes reason for denial;

7. Negotiate with our local government entities and non-profit developers to bundle abandoned Real-Estate Owned properties and convert them into affordable housing;

8. Establish a community investment agreement to improve access to capital for our communities.

The House of Representatives passed health reform legislation that would extend coverage to 36 million Americans, ban insurance companies from denying people coverage for pre-existing conditions, and help make health care more affordable to millions of hardworking American families, while also reducing the deficit.

“In such desperate times, comprehensive health reform is needed more than ever, said CCISCO leader Teresa Flores, “Representative George Miller has truly championed those needs and fought for affordability in this health care bill and we are excited that Rep. John Garamendi has also jumped on board to answer the call–we look forward to the Senate following suit.”

Throughout this year’s debate, clergy and faith leaders from CCISCO and the PICO National Network have fought for a vision of a day when no parent would have to choose between putting food on the table or providing health coverage for their family; when our children would read about Americans being denied coverage for pre-existing conditions only in their history books

To demonstrate that health reform is not an abstract idea, but a change that will bring security and better health to millions of Americans for generations to come, CCISCO and PICO are planning a massive educational effort to help everyday Americans understand how the House legislation would directly benefit their families. We will also continue to press the Senate to follow the House’s lead by passing legislation that makes insurance affordable for all people, especially low-and moderate-income children and families.

After hundreds of town hall actions, a phone call with President Obama which included 300,000 people, and a cross country pilgrimage to put a human face on the health care debate, CCISCO and PICO applaud Rep. George Miller and the House for taking leadership on passing this historic health care bill.

Last June, CCISCO held a 500-person community action meeting where Congressman George Miller heard the call for legislation that would make health care affordable. When asked if he would make sure health care remained affordable for all families, Rep. Miller answered with a resounding yes. The recommendations were taken and are now included in the legislation coming out of the House.

After hundreds of town hall actions, a phone call with President Obama which included 300,000 people, and a cross country pilgrimage to put a human face on the health care debate, CCISCO and PICO organizations would like to thank Rep. George Miller and the House for taking leadership on this very important national issue.

The House leadership unveiled legislation yesterday that would extend affordable health coverage to 36 million Americans, while taking important steps to control health care costs, all without adding to the federal deficit. While important issues remain to be resolved, the bill shows that it is possible to provide adequate subsidies to make coverage affordable to low-wage working families, while being fiscally responsible.

The affordability battle still rages in the Senate. For this reason, CCISCO and PICO as well as 160 organizations across the country are calling on Senator Reid to keep health care affordable in the Senate version of the health care bill.

To read the letter to Senator Reid click here.

Antioch, CA-With chants of “We love our community and we want to stay in our homes,” over 100 CCISCO leaders gathered in front of the Bank of America on Somersville Rd. in Antioch on Saturday, October 24, 2009 as part of the “Bank Accountability” campaign. So far, the pressure placed on Bank of America has reaped rewards.

“There are more than 780,000 families waiting for Bank of America to do the right thing,” said CCISCO leader Rosario Frisse over the megaphone.

The bank heard the message loud and clear. Bank of America has agreed to meet with CCISCO leaders and to halt the auctions on families who have submitted loan modification paperwork. The sudden turn on behalf of Bank of America comes shortly after the town hall action last Tuesday, October 20, which gathered more than 400 community members including clergy and civil rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson.

At the town hall action, Antioch City Council Member Martha Parsons, Oakley City Council Member Jim Frazier and Supervisor Federal Glover committed to working towards divesting from banks that are not negotiating in good faith with families to modify their loans. At the state level, State Senator Mark DeSaulnier has agreed to co-sponsor legislation that would allow families to call on a third party mediator to help reach a loan modification with banks as well as to convene a hearing with the State Attorney General to request that he litigate uncooperative banks that did not comply with state moratorium on foreclosures.

One of the families that has benefitted directly from the outcomes of the town hall action is the Rubio family who is eligible for a loan modification under the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program. CCISCO leader Nelly Rubio submitted a loan modification to no avail and after waiting for months she received a letter from Bank of America stating that her home would be auctioned by the end of the month. Prior to the town hall action, Bank of America was replicating this same scenario on many families. The tide, however, has changed.

“I have some good news,” said CCISCO leader Nelly Rubio at the protest, “Thanks to everybody in the community and our public officials, I got a call from Bank of America and they will work with me.”

This good news will also affect many more families as Bank of America has agreed to meet with CCISCO leaders on Friday, November 6, 2009 at Holy Rosary Church to negotiate the following demands:

1. Halt all foreclosure proceedings for families who are currently eligible for a loan modification under the HAMP program;

2. Suspend all auctions in Contra Costa County for the next 90 days to allow for negotiations to occur;

3. Designate a point person to negotiate with our family delegations;

4. Incorporate principal reductions, which are allowable under HAMP, and not just interest rate reductions, to make loan modifications more affordable and sustainable;

5. Negotiate with our local government entities and non-profit developers to bundle abandoned Real-Estate Owned properties and convert them into affordable housing;

6. Establish a community investment agreement to improve access to capital for our communities.

“This is a wake up call to all the other banks, that you’re next,” said CCISCO leader Domingo Delgadillo, “We’re going to continue this fight and do everything we can to win, if you don’t negotiate in good faith, we’re going to escalate this fight.”

Also in attendance were supporting the protest were councilmember Martha Parsons and Lt. Governor John Garamendi.

“Let’s take a look at the facts, Bank of America received billions of dollars of our money to take care of themselves, they fattened themselves, they fattened their executives’ wallets and they left Antioch high and dry,” Garamendi told CCISCO leaders, “It’s time for Bank of America, for every wall street bank, to come to an understanding: the fat days are over boys, it’s time to take care of America.”

As the protest drew to a close, the Lt. Governor left CCISCO leaders with some final words.

“For all of you that are here, never, ever stop protesting. Make your voices heard. You are in the right. Make your voices heard.”

Antioch, CA – On Tuesday, October 20, 2009, over 400 community residents packed the Dominican Hall at Holy Rosary Church to hold banks accountable for refusing to negotiate in good faith with homeowners. Joining them that night was the Reverend Jesse Jackson who offered words of inspiration and clarity on the effects of the banking system.

“We are taking action to hold banks and our public officials accountable to keep families in their homes, said CCISCO leader Domingo Delgadillo, “Despite the massive outcry and the billions of dollars received in federal bailouts, the banks are still refusing to work with our families-but we will not give up!”

According to the HAMP data for September 2009, Bank of America has by far the worst record among the four largest servicers will only 11 percent of eligible homeowners receiving trial modifications. Worse yet, Bank of America is responsible for 780,000 families waiting for loan modifications.

These numbers reflect a disturbing trend that has affected thousands of families in Contra Costa County.

Wells Fargo’s numbers are scarcely better. Wells Fargo/Wachovia has only helped 17% of those eligible homeowners who are more than 60 days delinquent and many families were told that Wells/Wachovia had no loan modification program in place as they continued to foreclose on families-a clear violation of the California Foreclosure Moratorium.

“61% of sub-prime loans went to people who qualified for prime loans with much better terms,” said CCISCO leader Robin Rowell who presented the research report.

“The banks are playing games, and I hear this again and again from different people,” said CCISCO leader Raul de Anda, “I don’t have anyone to turn to, this is not the American dream.” At the action, Mr. de Anda testified how his lender lost his certified check-despite bank records that it was cashed-and now is faced with foreclosure.

“You call the bank, and they don’t even know if they have your paperwork,” said Nelly Rubio, “My family is currently facing foreclosure, I’m here to ask the community for help, we need to put pressure on the banks.”

The Rubio family is eligible for a loan modification under the Obama Administration’s Making Home Affordable program and has submitted their entire request for a modification. However, they have not had any response from Bank of America and were just notified that their home is scheduled for auction at the end of the month.

“We are ready to work with CCISCO as you begin to work to demand justice, we’re going to work together, we’re going to win this battle, because our battle is America’s battle,” Reverend Jesse Jackson told the crowd. “America must win, we must win. Greed, exploitation, lawlessness, the banks just robbed America, it is time for law and order in high places. Stand up and march now, demand justice now, this land is our land made for you and me.”

The call for action increased as the meeting progressed.

“Together under CCISCO, we are working together to stop this injustice,” said Fr. Robert Rien of St. Ignatius of Antioch Catholic Church, “No one of us can do what ALL of us can do together – our voices will be heard and we will continue to work and to speak until this situation is reversed.”

At the meeting, CCISCO leaders won commitments from the cities of Antioch and Oakley, as well as Contra Costa County, to develop divestment ordinances to pull deposits from banks that have been uncooperative with Contra Costa families, including Wells Fargo and Bank of America. In addition, city officials are arranging for CCISCO leaders to present at League of Mayor’s Conference (19 local cities) to urge other cities to adopt similar measures.

CCISCO leaders also won a commitment from State Senator Mark DeSaulnier to convene a meeting with Attorney General Jerry Brown to initiate investigation into Wells Fargo for violation of California’s Foreclosure Moratorium. Senator DeSaulnier also agreed to co-author an amendment that would strengthen the proposed Mandatory Mediation legislation.

Finally, a representative from the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco agreed to convene banks to negotiate around CCISCO’s foreclosure prevention demands and establish a lending consortium to negotiate local investment agreements.

BANK PROTEST SCHEDULED FOR THIS SATURDAY

To continue to hold banks accountable, CCISCO leaders will protest at the Bank of America on Somersville Rd., in Antioch on Saturday, October 24, 2009 at 10:00am. Dozens of community residents will support all of the families with Bank of America who have qualified for loan modifications but continue to hear no response from Bank of America.

CCISCO leaders are demanding that Bank of America halt all foreclosure proceedings on all families who are eligible for loan modifications and that Mr. Martin Richards, regional president for Bank of America, meet face-to-face with CCISCO families to negotiate and restructure their loans.

With dozens of community residents at their side, CCISCO families like Nelly Rubio who have loans with Bank of America and who qualify for loan modifications will be demanding that their homes be pulled off the auction block and that Bank of America be accountable for restructuring their loan.

CCISCO LEADERS HEAD TO CHICAGO FOR A SHOWDOWN

Saturday evening a delegation of CCISCO leaders and Recovery Riders Rosario Frisse, Miguel Perez, and Norma Perez will be travelling to Chicago to join in national mobilization to coincide with the American Banker Association’s national conference. At the event, CCISCO leaders will help to lead a Peoples’ Commission which will hear testimony and evidence from everyday Americans, well known public figures, and elected officials on how Wall Street banks created the foreclosure crisis and sent the economy into a tailspin. Commission findings will be shared with the Obama Administration, Members of Congress, and the Angelides Commission. At the mobilization, thousands of taxpayers from around the country will demonstrate against the American Banker’s Association and demand that they cease lobbying against financial reform. This will be the largest taxpayer mobilization since the economic crisis Began. See www.showdowninchicago.org for more details.

On November 1st, CCISCO leaders and Recovery Rider Jaime Silahua and Victor Urbina will be travelling to Brockton, Massachusetts to participate in a national action with Congressman Barney Frank, Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee and top officials from the Federal Reserve to continue to urge the federal government to continue holding banks accountable to work with homeowners to lower monthly payments and keep them in their homes, as it pursues a broader agenda of reforming bank regulation to prevent future crisis.

As a powerful cross country pilgrimage for health care arrived in DC, faith leaders lobbied to ensure that health care is affordable to all Americans. More than 1,000 people from PICO affiliates across the country added their portraits and handwritten notes to a cross-country photo and video exhibition titled “Bearing Witness: A Pilgrimage for Health Reform” which culminated in a display on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C and a day of action on October 20th. The exhibit visited seven cities across the country and collected stories from families in need of health reform.

Please visit the exhibit at www.icareforhealthcare.org to view the stories and share your own.

As Congress continues negotiating over the vital details of health reform, faith leader in alliance with 1,000 congregations in the PICO National Network, are working to ensure that our nation’s leaders get the details right around affordability for families. In light of the Treasury Department’s recent finding that nearly one-half of non-elderly Americans have gone through some gap in health insurance coverage over the last decade, the exhibit is meant to lift up the voices of this large segment of the population, whose support is crucial to the success of health reform efforts.

Prominent clergy and faith leaders from Maine, Nebraska, North Dakota, Colorado, Louisiana, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey and California gathered on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to urge Senate leadership to fix the Finance committee’s version of health reform legislation in order to make health insurance affordable for working families.

The event came a day after PICO National Network and Community Catalyst released a report outlining the burden placed on working families under the Senate Finance legislation, and making clear recommendations on what the Senate needs to do in merging the bills.

“A family of three earning just over $27,000 and living almost anywhere in the country can’t afford to pay $5,000 a year on health insurance premiums and out-of-pocket costs, as they would be required under this bill,” said Rev. Bill Calhoun, a Presbyterian pastor with PICO from Denver, CO. “This would force them to choose between staying uninsured and paying a penalty for not purchasing coverage, or purchasing coverage but cutting back on other basic necessities such as food, housing or childcare to cover the high costs.”

“The good news is that Congress can make it right,” said Rob Restuccia, Executive Director of Community Catalyst. “Our proposal reduces premiums and out-of-pocket costs for low and moderate-income workers in the exchange. It is fully paid for and can be accomplished within the total budget goals set by President Obama.”

To protect low-income families from potentially devastating financial consequences of unaffordable premiums and high out of pocket expenses, the report recommends clear strategies for increasing subsidies for families and capping annual out-of-pocket expenses, as well as offers ways to fully pay for these improvements.

Clergy leaders were also joined by SEIU President Andy Stern, whose union has been one of the most vocal proponents of affordable health care both on the job and in the new Exchange.

“There’s no question that there is an economic imperative to get reform done now, but there is also a moral imperative,” said Mr. Stern. “It’s simply not right to let people suffer the way we do under the current system. From denial of care to unaffordable premiums to losing benefits, our system is failing to deliver and women, men and their families from all over this nation are shouldering that burden. America can and must do better.”

“The stakes right now are very high for working families,” said Rev. Steve Beckham, pastor of First Little Rock Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, LA. “Congress needs to get the details right on affordability for families. The details matter.”

PLEASE CALL SENATOR DIANE FEINSTEIN TODAY AND URGE HER TO MAKE HEALTH CARE AFFORDABLE FOR ALL FAMILIES: (415) 393-0707

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UPDATE: CCISCO leaders win commitment for field hearings from Department of Treasury to focus on bank accountability for loan modifications

CCISCO leader Rosario Frisse, along with a delegation of leaders from the PICO National Network and National People’s Action, met with high level Department of Treasury officials who are responsible for overseeing the federal HAMP program. At the meeting, leaders from around the country shared their stories and research about the difficulties families are having in working lenders to help save their homes. At the meeting, Assistant Secretary Michael Barr and other Treasury officials agreed to convene a series of field hearings around the country to hear proposals to help make improvements to the HAMP program.

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Antioch, CA – On Monday, September 28, 2009, 52 CCISCO leaders gathered in front of the Bank of America on Somersville Road in Antioch, to hold a press conference to launch the CCISCO “Bank Accountability” campaign. The gathering served as a warning shot across the bow to banks that are seen as not responding adequately to borrowers who seek to renegotiate their mortgage loans.

The next phase of the campaign will take place on Tuesday, October 20, 2009 at 7:00pm at Holy Rosary Catholic Church, 1313 “A” Street where celebrated Civil Rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson will be the keynote speaker. CCISCO is partnering with Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to advance a comprehensive set of policies at the local, state, and federal level to hold the banks accountable and speed the process of restructuring loans and keeping millions of families in their homes.

“We are here tonight because we are angry and frustrated with banks for not modifying the loans for people who qualify,” Betty Espindola told the crowd of 50 supporters and members of the press. “Despite massive public outcry and billions of dollars in federal bailouts, people are still losing their homes, and families are ending up on the streets. But together, we can hold them accountable.”

There is a disturbing trend in the foreclosure crisis despite gains with Obama’s Making Home Affordable Program. According to the U.S. Department of Treasury, only 9% of all eligible loan modifications have been changed leaving thousands in Contra Costa County still facing foreclosure and eviction.

That’s the experience of Carmen Hernandez and Victor Urbina, members of Most Holy Rosary Parish in Antioch, who both stand to lose their house in coming weeks. Hernandez said she had tried for more than a year to negotiate a loan modification with Bank of America. When the lender finally responded in June, it offered a modification that lowered the couple’s interest rate to 2.8 percent and set their monthly payment at 34 percent of income but did not calculate property taxes and insurance as part of the payment contrary, she said, to the bank’s own policies which meant very scant savings for the Hernandez’.

“I want to tell all the families and all the people out there to help us put pressure on the bank to offer us something just and appropriate for us with a good mortgage payment,” Hernandez told the Antioch gathering.

Urbina bought his house in 2003 and never missed a payment until early this year. “I had made my mortgage payments on time, making many sacrifices, working very hard, depleting my savings, until I reached a point where I couldn’t make the payments,” he said, “I spoke with the bank twice, but they never gave me an option that was affordable.” He submitted paperwork for a loan modification, but was told a month later that his lender, Wachovia Bank, did not have such a program.

He recently received a surprise letter saying his house would be auctioned on Oct. 14. “The reality is that we are not getting any help, and it seems that nobody cares,” Urbina said.

Dominican Father Roberto Corral, pastor of Most Holy Rosary Parish in Antioch, told the Antioch gathering that the saddest aspect of the nation’s economic and foreclosure crisis is that it was “not simply the result of mistakes, but the results of greed, lust for money and power, the results of unethical business practices.”

“Families are the basic structure of society,” Fr. Corral continued, “and families need homes in order to achieve stability and provide proper care for their members. It’s not just a matter of displacing families: This crisis is affecting every school, every church, every business, and every form of government that we have, and it has to be stopped; wether we are people of faith or not, what matters most is that we do the right thing for the right reasons, and that we help those who are poor and most vulnerable in society, so we call upon our banks to do what is right.”

Catholic Voice Article – Families Losing Homes Organize in East Contra Costa County to Hold Banks Accountable for Loan Modifications

Richmond, CA – On Thursday, September 24, 2009, 480 people attended the town hall action organized by CCISCO leaders at St. Mark’s Church. The purpose of the action was to build support for comprehensive immigration reform and to expand protections for immigrants in Richmond to prevent vehicle confiscations at police checkpoints.

“Our vision for Richmond and our country is for immigrants and native-born residents working together to improve conditions for everyone,” said CCISCO leader Bennie Singleton, “There is great strength in our diversity and we need to work together to lift up the entire community and resist efforts to divide us.”

Richmond Mayor Gayle McLaughlin, Richmond Police Chief Chris Magnus, Richmond City Council member Jeff Ritterman, San Pablo City Council member Cecilia Valdez, West Contra Costa County Unified School Board members Tony Thurmond and Madeleine Kronenberg, and representatives of Congressman George Miller all spoke at the action and pledged their support to a set of critical issues critical to the immigrant community. The town hall helped to gain support in the following issues:

1. Support and Strengthen Richmond Police Department’s policy of non-confiscation of vehicles at checkpoints and expand to general stops.

2. Gain support to expand a similar policy to the city of San Pablo.

3. Build Support for Comprehensive Immigration Reform, including the DREAM Act, among our federal representatives.

5. Gain Support to protect funding for adult education, including English and Citizenship classes.

At the action, community members were also challenged to lead efforts to build bridges between the immigrant and native-born community.

For more information on fixing our broken immigration system, visit Reform Immigration for America click here

After months of campaigning, CCISCO leaders along with PICO California and children’s health advocates around the state, celebrated the passage of AB 1422 which helped save health care for 900,000 children in California. CCISCO leaders organized one of the largest actions in the state to protest the cuts, gathering over 500 people in June 2009 and helping to lead a march with hundreds of children in Sacramento later that month.

“I never thought sharing my story would make such a big difference,” said CCISCO youth leader Alex Marquez, “This is yet another example that when everyone makes a contribution it turns into something extraordinary, that we can accomplish anything.”

On September 23, 2009 Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed AB 1422 by Assembly Speaker Karen Bass (D-Los Angeles), a bipartisan, shared solution that will prevent nearly 700,000 children from losing their state-provided health insurance through the Healthy Families program and allow the Managed Risk Medical Insurance Board (MRMIB), the agency that oversees the state’s Healthy Families Program, to open the program to new enrollment.

AB 1422 provides $194 million in shared solutions to keep California children enrolled in Healthy Families, including:

* $80 million grant from the First Five Commission

* $14 million from modest increases in premiums and co-pays in the Healthy Families program

* Co-pays will increase from $5 to $10 for doctor visits and prescriptions and from $5 to $15 for emergency room visits. Enrollees will also incur premium increases ranging from $4 to $7 per child per month beginning November 1. There will be no premium increase for those families under 150 percent of the federal poverty line.

* $100 million from continuing an existing fee on Medi-Cal managed care plans CCISCO and PICO California leaders want to recognize Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, State Senate President Darrel Steinberg for their strong leadership on this issue, as well as State Senator Mark DeSaulnier, State Senator Loni Hancock, State Assemblymember Tom Torlakson, and State Assemblymember Nancy Skinner for their support of this critical issue.

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PICO Launches Cross Country Pilgrimage for Health Care Reform

Over 1,000 people from PICO affiliates across the country will add their portraits and handwritten notes to a cross-country photo and video exhibition titled “Bearing Witness: A Pilgrimage for Health Reform” that will culminate in a display on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C in mid-October. The exhibit will visit seven cities across the country and collect stories from families in need of health reform.

The exhibit will make stops in San Bernardino, San Francisco Bay Area, Denver, CO, Kansas City, MO, New Orleans, LA, Baton Rouge, LA, and Orlando, FL before arriving in Washington, D.C. in mid-October.

The exhibit will be officially launched on Tuesday, October 13, 2009 at www.icareforhealthcare.org.

As Congress continues negotiating over the vital details of health reform, faith leaders from organization, in alliance with 1,000 congregations in the PICO National Network, are working to ensure that our nation’s leaders get the details right around affordability for families. In light of the Treasury Department’s recent finding that nearly one-half of non-elderly Americans have gone through some gap in health insurance coverage over the last decade, the exhibit is meant to lift up the voices of this large segment of the population, whose support is crucial to the success of health reform efforts.

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San Francisco – On Tuesday, August 11, 2009 over 100 faith leaders from Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) and 6 other Bay Area organizations affiliated with the PICO National Network sent delegations to meet with the offices of Senator Feinstein and Senator Boxer urge the passage of comprehensive health care legislation this year. A prayer vigil followed which included testimonies from individuals who have suffered without health insurance.

“The status quo has got to go!” CCISCO leader Maria Rubio declared at the vigil as she reported about the meeting with Senator Boxer’s office. CCISCO and PICO Bay Area leaders received strong commitments to move comprehensive health care reform this year at the delegation meetings with top health care aides to Senators Boxer and Feinstein.

With the future of health care reform legislation on the line during the August Congressional recess, PICO’s Bay Area faith leaders made it clear that religious voters see health reform as a moral issue, and will hold their Members of Congress responsible for how well they look out for the lives of people in the Bay Area and not just special interests.

The prayer rally was a part of similar rallies around the country organized by national faith groups, including PICO National Network, Faith in Public Life, Sojourners, and Catholic in Alliance for the Common Good, which reached 100 Members of Congress. In addition to the rallies, the August campaign will also include TV ads, billboards, town hall meetings on health care reform, and the distribution of tens of thousands health care reform guides for people of faith.

Over 140,000 faith leaders from across the country participated in this historic phone call with President Obama and more than 160,000 have listened to the online recording in the days since. President Obama, who spoke on the call for approximately 10 minutes, affirmed his commitment to health reform that will make insurance available to the more than 46 million Americans who lack it, while allowing those who have coverage to keep what they have.

President Obama encouraged faith leaders on the call to continue working for reform. “This is a battle of hope over fear,” declared the President, “When people of faith have been able to demonstrate hope over fear, we have been able to accomplish a great deal.” The President stated that it is absolutely critical that we are on the side of promoting the well-being of all Americans, “One of our core ethical and moral obligations is that we look out for each other – I am my brother’s and sister’s keeper. When it comes to healthcare in our country, we are failing to do this.”

To listen to the call click here

Melody Barnes, Domestic Policy Director for the Obama Administration, answered questions about issues of pressing concern to religious voters. She said the White House is committed to making sure there are affordability protections in the final legislation, and reaffirmed the Administration’s commitment to leave in place current rules that protect the conscience of religious hospitals and health care providers and prohibit federal funding for abortion. Ms. Barnes also reminded participants that healthcare costs are the biggest driver of our national deficit and debt. She explained, “The President supports a healthcare plan that is fully paid for, will not add a penny to the national debt, and is a more effective and efficient system. Health reform is at the crux of being a faithful steward of our country.”

The call was one part of an unprecedented grassroots faith-based movement by PICO and other religious organizations to make quality health care affordable to all American families. The call was co-hosted by PICO along with more than 30 national religious denominations and organizations representing millions of people of faith from the Evangelical, Catholic, Main-line Protestant, Jewish and Muslim traditions.

Through large public meetings with Members of Congress, prayer vigils and rallies in more than 45 cities reaching the offices of 100+ Senators and Representatives, five trips to Washington, DC, by large groups of clergy and families during 2009, and paid radio and TV ads, PICO and allied faith and consumer groups have been demonstrating the broad public support for reform. PICO clergy and lay leaders plan to return to Washington, DC, in September to continue pressing Congress to move forward with health reform, including a strong Affordability Standard that protects families from crushing health care costs.

CCISCO and PICO are non-partisan organizations that do not endorse or support candidates. PICO strongly encourages people of faith to study the teachings and policy positions of their particular religious denominations and traditions.

For more please information visit www.coverallfamilies.org and www.piconetwork.org.

As part of the push for health care reform, CCISCO leaders recognized Congressman George Miller for his leadership in keeping health care affordable at an event held by the Community Clinic Consortium earlier on Tuesday. CCISCO leaders presented Congressman Miller with a pair of boxing gloves as a thank you for fighting on behalf of those who need health care.

After a successful town hall action last June, Congressman Miller held true to his promise and was instrumental in writing legislation which included an affordability standard as part of health care reform.

Despite the continued escalation of the foreclosure crisis and historic infusion of public investment, banks have made little progress towards modifying loans of families at risk of losing their homes. In its first report on the Obama administration’s efforts to prod lenders to help as many as 4 million homeowners by reducing their mortgage payments, the Treasury Department said just 9% of eligible loans had been changed.

Loans were modified even less often by the two mega-banks that dominate the mortgage market: Wells Fargo & Co. reduced payments for only 6% of its eligible home loans under the government’s program, and Bank of America Corp. modified just 4%.

As Administration and Treasury Department officials met with some of the largest servicers in the country in late July, CCISCO and PICO leaders held a press conference on Capitol Hill to decry the lack of action by

CCISCO leader Domingo Delgadillo of Antioch described the difficult he has faced in trying to work with his lender Wachovia, which has been purchased and is now owned by Wells Fargo.

“When I called Wachovia in July to request a loan modification, I was told that they still had not implemented their program,” he said. “I do not understand how it is possible.”

Washington Post Article – Banks Asked to Ramp Up Loan Help

LA Times Article – Banks slow to modify mortgages, Treasury reports

After waging a fierce campaign to advocate for federal loan modification program, CCISCO leaders have been frustrated by the lack of participation and accountability from major banks. In East County, CCISCO leaders have begun to organize delegations of families who are eligible for modifications to work together to hold their lenders accountable and are preparing for public actions in the coming weeks.

As a reflection of the widespread impact of the foreclosure crisis, CCISCO youth leader David Frisse is going to be featured on an upcoming episode on Nickelodeon about the impact of the economic crisis on children and families. The program is entitled “$tre$$ed Out! The Economic Crisis and You” and will appear Sunday, September 6 at 8:00pm PST.

CCISCO youth on Nickoledeon – $tre$$ed Out! The Economic Crisis and You

CCISCO has joined efforts on a national level for comprehensive immigration reform to address the need to fix the broken system of immigration. Throughout the coming months, CCISCO leaders will be organizing to build support for comprehensive immigration reform which reflects our beliefs and our common values. This past June, CCISCO leader Gabriela Banuelos represented the organization at the kickoff for the Reform Immigration for America campaign in Washington D.C.

Since then, CCISCO leaders from across the county have developed a countywide strategy to continue to strengthen bridges immigrants and native-born Americans and mobilize support for immigration reform. CCISCO is working closely with PICO organizations in the East Bay, Catholic Charities and the Diocese of Oakland to develop an Immigrant Response Network.

A delegation of CCISCO leaders supported the launch of this effort at a powerful action in Oakland with more 2,200 members of Oakland Community Organizations, our sister organization. On August 11th, dozens of CCISCO leaders attended a Candidate's forum for the leading candidate's for the 10th Congressional District and asked the candidate's for their positions on comprehensive immigration reform and were excited that all of the leading candidate's indicated that they would support President Obama's efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform.

The first of these events is a town hall action that has been organized by CCISCO leaders at St. Mark's Church in Richmond on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at 7:00 p.m. The town hall action will begin to address the issue of reform as well as bring to light the need for local strategies for bringing immigrant and non-immigrant communities together. Also a component of the action will be to support and strengthen the Richmond Police Department's new policy of non-confiscation of vehicles at checkpoints. CCISCO leaders in Concord have also organized a local citizenship drive and know your rights workshop.

To learn more about CCISCO and PICO organizations in California's efforts to promote active citizenship and immigrant integration click here.

For more information on Reform Immigration for America click here

CCISCO youth leaders held a community forum to present and discuss findings from the recent Pacific Institute report, Measuring What Matters: Neighborhood Research for Economic and Environmental Health and Justice in Richmond, North Richmond, and San Pablo. The team from the RYSE Youth Center and Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization designed the event to highlight project research and their own experiences with the lack of access to youth programs for 15-20 year olds in West Contra Costa County.

The youth presented an original video, gave live testimonies, hosted an interactive quiz show game, and presented research findings and recommendations for changes to city policy and programming. Over 60 people participated, including dozens of youth and Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and County Supervisor John Gioia.

Youth Report

Concord – On Saturday, June 13, 2009, nearly 500 community members from all across Contra Costa County packed into the Queen of all Saints Church Hall to hear testimony, research and next steps on the issue of health care reform in America. Buses came in from Brentwood, Oakley, and Richmond and as the meeting began, the call was loud and clear, when the debate on Capitol Hill is finished, health care must be affordable for all families.

“We need to make sure every person in the country has access to affordable and quality health care,” said CCISCO leader Barbara Gallman, “This event today is one of 55 being held across the country by faith based organizations part of the PICO Network during June and July in support of affordable health care reform. We have the opportunity to prevail, the opportunity to see a victory!”

Polls show that 63% of Americans favored greater government influence over their health care plans if it would lower costs and cover more Americans. However, there are still powerful opponents and interests who want to prevent progress.

“Thousands of faith based leaders and ordinary people across the country are coming together over the next two months to urge our elected representatives to make sure every family and every person in our country has access to affordable, high quality health care,” added Gallman.

The Queen of all Saints children’s choir sang uplifting songs of faith and devotion to the people in attendance and as they finished their last song, the choir director, Flor Guzman, underscored the fact that the majority of the majority of the children’s choir is in danger of losing their health insurance if the Healthy Families program is eliminated as Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed.

“I was born with Kartageners Syndrome a rare disease that has been treated thanks to the Healthy Families program, a program which has basically meant life or death for me,” said fifteen year-old Alex Marquez during his testimony, “My parents are hard working people, my father has held two and three jobs at a time and yet still there is no way they could ever pay these medical bills if not for Healthy Families.”

Some of the startling data suggests that congress needs to act soon to address the failing existing system of health care. According to the PICO California Health Care Affordability Report, even families who have existing health coverage are opting to hold off on care due to high cost. This is further exacerbated by the rising unemployment in California leaving those who once had employer based coverage without health care. The end result is that the high cost of health care is affecting all aspects of society regardless of status.

“When one part of the body is in pain, the rest of the body feels it,” said Fr. Mike Cunningham of Queen of all Saints Church, “We want that to be the message that Washington gets to cover all of us as they discuss this issue.”

Congressman George Miller highlighted the work of CCISCO and the PICO National Network for working towards defining an affordability standard that makes sure the 50 million uninsured people in America can get the health insurance they need.

“Our goal–President Obama’s goal that he has been working so hard for–is that we finally make sure that every American who seeks and wants health insurance will have it, it will be accessible, and it will be affordable,” said Congressman George Miller, “One of the key points that PICO and CCISCO are trying to point out that what it’s about–it�s about you organizing–it’s about you putting pressure on me and other members of Congress and writing your Senators and telling them that we must have a universal system of care and that it must be accessible, it must be affordable, and it must have a public plan to keep the insurance companies honest.”

As Congress draws closer to its conclusion on the health care debate, the pressure is mounting as the message of affordability resonates with the majority of Americans.

“Congressman Miller, we know that there are those who are trying to oppose health care reform, but we are all here to support your efforts and we want you to know one thing: There are more of us than there are of them!” said CCISCO leader Maria Rubio.

California State Senator Mark DeSaulnier committed himself to no cuts to children’s health care at the state level and pushed for more checks and balances for private health insurance companies.

“We’ve told the Governor that cutting Healthy Families and Cal-Works is a non-starter, we need to make sure that everyone continues to get the care they need,” said California State Senator Mark DeSaulnier, “Americans can’t afford to have this current system, the rates have been rising at a level we can’t control.”

Congressman Miller also addressed the proposed state cuts, “CCISCO and PICO and all of us worked too hard to expand S-CHIP to allow Governor Schwarzenegger to cut Healthy Families,” he told community members as the hall erupted in thunderous applause.

Cheers continued to echo throughout the hall as CCISCO leaders encouraged community members to stay involved by becoming part of a rapid response team to help urge Congress to enact health care reform. At a state level, children stamped their hands with paint in a giant message they will be presenting to Governor Schwarzenegger this Wednesday at the state capitol to remind him of the lives of children that are at stake if their health insurance is cut.

Contra Costa Times – The Rev. Jerry Brown: Affordability standard important to any health care plan

Contra Costa Times – Health Care Reform Takes Center Stage

Health Reform Reform Bill Summary (pdf)

Health Care Reform Affordability Fact Sheet (pdf)

National People’s Action and the PICO Network set into motion a series of community meetings to take place throughout the summer. The first of these meetings took place Thursday, June 11th in Richmond, California – a community hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Federal officials engaged in dialogue with members of the community about foreclosure prevention and how to fix our broken financial system with common-sense reforms.

The mayor of Richmond and other local officials were on hand to show support for regulatory reforms and the rebuilding of our communities to ensure economic recovery for all. The meeting with Federal Reserve officials started with a tour of neighborhoods left in the wake of the foreclosure crisis. More than 200 people were on hand to share the impacts of the economic crisis and illustrate the need for bold action from the Federal Reserve.

ABC 7 News Story

Ten percent of the homes in Richmond, California are foreclosed. One in ten. Home values have dropped 70%. The statistics don’t prepare you for the reality; on some blocks there are more boarded-up, empty houses than homes � on some, nothing but. Nor does it prepare you for the pain of those victimized by predatory mortgages. CCISCO leader Berenice Ramos has already lost her home, but she’s continuing to fight for others in her community.

Berenice and CCISCO are doing amazing work to address the issue, winning an ordinance that fines banks $1,000 per day for poorly maintained properties, and pushing the city and county to pull their money out of banks that are not modifying bad loans.

CCISCO’s leaders are real experts on the foreclosure crisis because they deal with its real consequences every day. Yesterday they were able to make a compelling case to officers of the Federal Reserve, one of the main regulators of the banking system. It was the first of ten public meetings that will happen this summer as the result of the commitment Ben Bernanke made when NPA met with him in March. 200 people came, and CCISCO essentially asked for five things:

1. Help pushing lenders to modify bad mortgages;

2. Measures to keep the tenants of foreclosed buildings in their homes;

3. Policies that compel banks to fix their own mess by making quality, stable, affordable credit available to all communities without discrimination;

4. Greater transparency in mortgage lending so that communities and government can better hold lenders accountable for peddling bad financial products;

5. and a follow-up meeting with Ben Bernanke after the conclusion of the ten forums.

The Richmond meeting was a big step toward making the case for systemic changes that will benefit our communities, but moving the Fed will take time. The national campaign should result in local victories, and the biggest win of the day was a commitment from Preston DuFauchard, Commissioner of the California Department of Corporations. CCISCO has won a 90-day moratorium on foreclosures starting July 1, and the Commissioner committed to prosecute banks who do not abide by the moratorium.

The event was also one of 50 assemblies taking place across the country the same day, and was held in partnership with the National Community Reinvestment Coalition and was co-sponsored by California Reinvestment Coalition (CRC), Richmond ACORN, Oakland ACORN, Just Cause Oakland, Oakland Community Organizations, the Community Housing Development Corporation of North Richmond, Neighborhood Housing Services of Richmond and many other community organizations committed to community investment.

After travelling across country on the Recovery Express to build momentum for national action to stop preventable foreclosures, CCISCO and PICO leaders are urging the Senate to pass judicial loan modifications and save 1.7 million families from losing their homes.

“We are not going to stop until every family has an opportunity to save their home,” CCISCO leader Rosario Frisse declared on Capitol Hill. “That is why we need the Senate to pass judicial loan modifications.”

The Senate will vote on legislation this Thursday that would allow homeowners facing foreclosure and whose banks refuse to work with them an option to save their homes by modifying their mortgage in bankruptcy court. President Obama has said that allowing such “judicial loan modifications” is essential to stopping the foreclosure crisis and studies show that it could prevent as many as 1.7 million families nationwide from losing their homes.

Families are feeling the pain of loan modifications that are not helping. CCISCO leader Jessica Peregrina recently got married and moved out of her family’s home in San Pablo, but her mom, two brothers, sister-in-law and nieces still live there.

“We bought our house in 2002 and then the bank where we had our loan went broke,” she said. “The new bank sent us a letter that we were going to get a higher interest and variable. We had it fixed for two years, then the payment went up from $2,500 to $3,200. After three months, it went up again to $3,700.”

CCISCO and PICO community leaders are working to build support for legislation in a few key states, and we need your help in reaching out to people in these states and asking them to call their Senators.

Please forward this message to friends and family in these states, asking them to call PICO’s Congressional hotline at: 866-584-0896 and urge their Senators to:

“Vote ‘yes’ on S.61 and save as many as 1.7 million families from losing their homes.”

* Florida – Sen. Mel Martinez

* Pennsylvania – Sen. Arlen Specter

* Missouri – Sen. Claire McCaskill

* Louisiana – Sen. Mary Landrieu

On Thursday, March 12, over 500 residents from the hard-hit city of Richmond, CA packed St. Mark’s Catholic Church to ask city, county, and bank leaders to take aggressive steps to deal with the approximately 2,000 abandoned, foreclosed bank-owned properties in this city of 100,000.

“We need to fine those banks $1,000 a day,” said the Rev. Marvin Webb, “we’re calling on Richmond to dramatically step up their enforcement program and hold (banks) accountable for the devastation they’ve created in our community.”

CCISCO and its allies received public commitments from the Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors to “do whatever is necessary” to help bring the banks to the negotiating table in the next 30 days, as well as commitments to:

* Aggressively fine banks $1,000 a day in Richmond and County for abandoned and unsecured properties (per existing state law, SB 1137)

* Place all acquired foreclosed properties into a land trust to keep them permanently affordable

* Establish a job training and local hiring program to employ local residents in securing, maintaining, rehabilitating and “greening” abandoned properties that are acquired by the City

* Establish a local “revolving loan fund” that would allow local residents (especially those who were victims of predatory lending) to acquire these properties

* Mechanics Bank also agreed to negotiate a community investment agreement to help capitalize the fund (alongside local and county governments)

To read the Contra Costa Times article, click here.

Antioch-On Tuesday, March 31, 2009 over 100 community members met at the Most Holy Rosary Church to listen to the concerns and aspirations for the eBART expansion into Antioch.

The City Council in Antioch heard the community’s testimonies and proposals as they voted unanimously to approve a plan that will create 2,500 new homes, 5,500 new jobs, and over 2 million square feet of commercial retail in a walkable community around the future Hillcrest eBART station. The plan includes nearly 400 homes affordable for working families, as well as a child care center and local parks.

This is a tremendous turn-around for Antioch, a city that has historically approved low-density development on the edges of the city and rejected previous opportunities to create truly vibrant neighborhoods with homes available for people at a range of incomes.

Not only is this a bold vision for the city, but an achievement for all of eastern Contra County. This is the first approved station area plan for the eBART corridor, which will extend BART ten miles from the current Pittsburg/Bay Point Station.

Starting in the summer of 2007, TransForm partnered with Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organizing (CCISCO), a faith-based, grassroots community organization representing over 35,000 families in Contra Costa County.

As a part of the Great Communities Collaborative, TransForm and CCISCO have worked to educate, organize, and mobilize Antioch residents to ensure that the station area plan would benefit working families. Over 200 residents from a variety of backgrounds participated in shaping the city�s plans.

Early in the process, CCISCO�s community leaders identified local job opportunities and truly affordable homes for families as top priorities. TransForm also worked with the Contra Costa County Building Trades and labor allies on the city council to require a local hire strategy for the plan area.

Finally, CCISCO members did extensive research with city officials to create a report on how to promote local jobs and affordable homes in the eBART plan, which they presented to three city council members at a recent town hall meeting. All three of the council members later supported adding stronger policies into the plan before it was approved.

The April 14 vote was the culmination of almost two years of building partnerships and organizing community support for a plan that would provide local job opportunities and affordable homes for families of all incomes.

CCISCO youth leaders celebrate successful engagement of Antioch School Board members and school superintendent to work towards reducing class rooms sizes.Class room size surfaced as the top concern among Antioch youth in a needs assessment of individual interviews this past summer.

Before an audience of nearly a hundred community members CCISCO leaders highlighted the problem. “Large classroom sizes make it difficult to receive personalized attention and to seek help when needed,” said Priscilla Marin.

Since then CCISCO leaders have met with students, teachers and school administrators to identify possible solutions that would effectively reduce class sizes. Youth also attended the April 25th school board meeting to personally invite school board members and district officials to attend a community forum to address the issue.

“In a class of 40 students to one teacher, teachers are not able to see my potential and support me, much less ensure that we�re prepared to pass the Advanced placement test at the end of the year,” said Yessica Parra.

School Superintendent Deborah Sims, congratulated the youth for demonstrating leadership and emphatically committed to empowering students, as well as working with them to find and implement solutions.

In less than a week, CCISCO leaders organized healthcare forums at St. Anthony’s Church in Oakley, Queen of all Saints in Concord, and St. Mark’s Church in Richmond with County Supervisors and their staff to give the community an opportunity to voice their opinions on harmful cuts to the Basic Healthcare Program. 300 community members participated and had their voices heard.

These cuts come at a time when the federal government is about to take on healthcare reform. CCISCO leaders are organizing at a local and national scale with PICO National’s “Cover All Families” campaign. For more information on the campaign click here.

The healthcare forums served to highlight the need to help preserve the Basic Healthcare Program. After a vote, however, the County Supervisors cut 5,500 undocumented immigrants from the program but not before redirecting $1.5 million from the general fund to continue services through local community clinics.

Below is CCISCO’s statement on the proposed health care cuts prior to the vote.

CCISCO statement to Board of Supervisors on Healthcare Cuts.pdf

CBS 5 Report.

Los Angeles Times article.

After a successful two-year campaign to expand health coverage to uninsured children, CCISCO is working with the PICO National Network to help organize the faith community to build bipartisan support for comprehensive health care reform this year guided by the following priorities:

1. Health care reform needs to provide families with quality health insurance choices that are truly affordable regardless of income;

2. Reform needs to cover everyone, so that no person relies on an emergency room for their health care or delays treatment because they lack insurance or have been denied coverage;

3. Reform needs to protect and enhance the health of lower-income families and children by strengthening Medicaid and SCHIP; and

4. Reform needs to rest on a financially sustainable foundation, providing people with the care they need when they need it and controlling costs.

“The problems our county health system faces are not unique,” CCISCO leader Barbara Gallman testified at a recent community hearing on health care. “The issues of access and costs reflect the inadequacy of our present healthcare system at large. We are in urgent need of comprehensive national healthcare reform that delivers high quality, cost efficient health care to everyone.”

CCISCO leaders are partnering with Representative George Miller (D-7) to host a town hall meeting at the end of May to share the results of the thousands of �affordability surveys� they have conducted across the county and country. The goal of the event and the �Cover All Families� campaign is to help inform and build support for comprehensive health care reform this year. CCISCO leader Yessica Parra is participating in a briefing in Washington DC on May 1st to share the results of the surveys and educate members of key committees in the Senate and Congress about how to make health care affordable to all families.

CCISCO leaders are organizing at a local and national scale with PICO National’s “Cover All Families” campaign. For more information on the campaign click here.

On Friday, March 6, 2009, PICO leaders from CCISCO, Faith in Community (FIC) and Oakland Community Organiztions (OCO) jumped on board the “Recovery Express” bus and set out on a cross country tour to share their stories highlighting the pain and hardship caused by the foreclosure crisis. Along the way, they were welcomed with prayer and blessings, as well as a renewed hope to reach Washington D.C. to carry the message that our country needs the Senate to act on foreclosure and bankruptcy reform now!

They weathered hail, rain, snow, and wind to get to Washington D.C. When they arrived to their final destination, they talked with their representatives, shared their testimonies and urged the Senate to stop preventable foreclosures. To further underscore the importance of this critical issue, a prayer rally was held in front of the U.S. Capitol Building where 300 PICO faith leaders, including Recovery Riders, pressed for quick passage of bankruptcy reform legislation. The rally was covered by CNN, Associated Press, Reuters, CNBC, PBS, ABC, CBS and Fox, and reached an estimated 9.3 million homes. Momentum for foreclosure reform has increased dramatically.

On Sunday, March 15, 2009, Recovery Rider, Rev. Lucy Kolin, national clergy spokesperson for the PICO National Network, appeared on CNN’s “Face of Faith” to make a clear request to Members of the U.S. Senate to give struggling homeowners whose banks will not work with them an option to save their homes by passing bankruptcy reform legislation before they go on recess in early April.

You can view Pastor Kolin’s interview as well as stories, pictures and video of each of the “Recovery Express” stops across the country by visiting the “Recovery Express” blog, click here.

To learn more about the PICO Network’s campaign to stop preventable foreclosures, click here.

After gathering more than 800 signatures to support bankruptcy reform, CCISCO Leaders are ready to embark on a cross country trip that will take them to 8 cities. They will share their foreclosure stories and put a human face on the issue that has deeply hurt our economy. Once in Washington D.C., they will meet with members of Congress to discuss education, immigration reform, and jobs as well as be joined by Dr. William Walker on the issue of healthcare at the Faith and Families Economic Recovery Summit held by PICO.

“The number of signatures we gathered shows there is broad support for bankruptcy reform, having Congresswoman Tauscher take leadership in supporting us is invaluable,” said CCISCO Leader Rosario Frisse, “We want to continue to take our message across the country and collect more signatures to let Congress know we need bankruptcy reform now.”

Families and neighborhoods across the country continue to face a crisis. One in ten home mortgages is either delinquent or in foreclosure. Over 13 million families owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. So far, over 3 million families have lost their home to foreclosure, and another 10 million could do so before the crisis ends.

Locally, California has seen an increase in the number of foreclosures–these foreclosures are expected to continue over the next five years. Most at-risk are those homeowners who were victims of predatory lending, and who are now paying the price while they watch banks get bailed out.

As faith leaders on the frontlines of this struggle, PICO National Network launched a nationwide campaign to stop 3 million preventable foreclosures in October 2008. The “Recovery Express” is asking Leaders in Congress to take the following actions:

1) Hold banks and lenders accountable to families and communities by creating requirements and incentives for financial institutions, especially those receiving taxpayer assistance, to perform loan modifications that help keep families in their homes;

2) Swiftly enact bankruptcy reform to empower homeowners whose banks will not work with them to modify their loans in bankruptcy court;

3) Create new regulations for the financial industry to protect the American public and prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.

The Recovery Riders will arrive in Washington, DC on March 9 and will join 300 faith and community leaders from PICO in meetings with Members of Congress and the Obama Administration.

Brentwood-On Tuesday, February 24, 2009 nearly three hundred students, concerned parents and community members were present to hear research and testimony regarding the state of East Contra Costa County schools at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church.

There is a growing concern that students are not being adequately prepared to enter college or the workforce once they finish high school. CCISCO Leaders however are not waiting to see what will happen, they are actively engaged in making changes despite the current budget crisis.

“We are taking action to ensure that everyone in our communities-regardless of where you are from or what you look like or how much money you have-has opportunity!” said Gabriela Bañuelos to public officials which included State Superintendent Jack O’Connell.

CCISCO and PICO California are working together to ensure that all students graduate high school prepared for college and for meaningful employment. To realize this goal, they are focusing on: equitable and consistent funding for schools, equitable distribution of qualified and effective teachers, improved collection and reporting of data, and supports for diverse programs and schools to better meet the needs of all students.

“It is great to see CCISCO and the community coming together to work on a solution to the greatest civil rights issue of our time,” said Superintendent Jack O’Connell, “By working together we can change our educational system.”

Working together is the key to making true change. For this reason coalitions organized by CCISCO continue to grow at the local level.

“Here in Antioch, Brentwood and Pittsburg, we are building coalitions of youth, parents, teachers, and administrators to transform our schools,” said CCISCO Youth Leader Oprince Vola.

CCISCO received commitments from Brentwood and Pittsburg school officials to work together on solutions to education collectively. No Antioch school officials were present at the event.

To change the face of the educational system in California it is important to have leadership. “We want to thank State Superintendent Jack O’Connell for coming tonight and showing true leadership,” said CCISCO Leader Teresa Flores, “We need the same type of leadership from our Governor and State Legislature.”

RICHMOND

Earlier in the day, CCISCO leaders in Richmond convened a dialogue about closing the achievement gap with key stakeholders in West Contra Costa Unified School District. The meeting consisted of WCCUSD Superintendent Bruce Harter; Audrey Miles and Antonio Medrano WCCUSD Board of Trustees; Pixie Hayward Schickele, president of United Teachers of Richmond; CCISCO leaders and student, parent, and teachers from schools across the district.

Student leaders at Kennedy High School gave powerful testimony about the challenges they face, especially in the face of recent budget cuts. Teachers spoke of the impact of home visits and their commitment to empowering parents and teachers. School Board leaders discussed the difficult budget crisis they face and the miraculous response from the community to help stave off the closure of schools. State Superintendent O’Connell shared his thoughts and strategies at a state level to help improve school funding and reduce the achievement gap and also committed to returning to Richmond later this year to continue the dialogue.

On October 27, 2008 CCISCO leaders at Holy Rosary Church launched a National Campaign with the PICO Network which included more than 800 people and twenty organizations. This effort sparked local actions in ten cities across the country and led up to a gathering of more than 200 faith leaders in Washington D.C. at the steps of the Treasury in November. After months of organizing to keep families and communities together, these efforts have paid off.

Today, President Obama took an important step in addressing the root causes of the economic crisis by announcing a comprehensive strategy to stabilize communities by helping 7 to 9 million U.S. families restructure their mortgages to avoid foreclosure.

The Administration’s plan offers hope to cities and towns across the country that have been hard-hit by the foreclosure crisis, and a lifeline to hundreds of thousands of homeowners who are desperately trying to work with their banks to modify their loans and who, in the words of President Obama, “find themselves navigating a maze of rules and regulations but rarely finding answers.”

“It is incredible what CCISCO and the community of Antioch have been able to accomplish, the efforts of PICO are bearing fruit as evidenced by President Obama’s announcement today. Helping 7 to 10 million families is a miracle for our families fighting to save their homes and gives hope to those families who have already lost their hope to continue on,” said Berenice Ramos, CCISCO Leader at Holy Rosary Church who helped launch PICO’s National Campaign to Stop Preventable Foreclosures in Antioch.

“I want to encourage people to keep fighting and supporting CCISCO and PICO so that no one else will have to suffer the loss of their home. We know that all of the sorrow and pain in communities has given birth to the positive response of President Obama today. It gives us hope that by working together we can rebuild our community and economy,” added Ramos.

As a network of faith-based organizations working to prevent foreclosures and help rebuild neighborhoods, PICO believes that, if implemented quickly and effectively, the strategy announced today will give relief to homeowners and communities, including:

* The creation of standard guidelines for loan modification that all banks receiving taxpayer bailout money are required to implement;

* $75 billion to help millions of responsible homeowners avoid foreclosure by lowering their monthly payments to an affordable 31% of income;

* And incentives for servicers to modify loans, not only for families on the brink of foreclosure but also for struggling borrowers before they fall behind on their payments.

The plan also calls on Congress to enact legislation that would empower homeowners whose banks will not work with them to modify their mortgages through bankruptcy court.

March 6-9, 2009, PICO will hold a cross-country “Recovery Express” Bus Caravan to highlight successful efforts by cities to prevent foreclosures and stabilize neighborhoods, and to press Members of Congress from both parties to support bold action to keep families in their homes, including fixing the bankruptcy code and changing tax laws to clarify the legal ability of mortgage trust holders to modify mortgages.

During 2008-09, the PICO network has helped lead a national faith-based campaign to stop preventable foreclosures through direct assistance to families at-risk of losing their homes; by developing model city, county and state foreclosure prevention strategies; and by advocating for federal policies to stop more than 3 million preventable foreclosures.

On February 5, 2009, PICO issued a joint report with the Center for Responsible Lending calling on the Treasury and Congress to create a large-scale, streamlined program to modify home mortgages: Common Sense Solutions for Saving Homes and Communities.

In May of 2007, CCISCO organized a healthcare action at St. Anthony’s Church in Oakley with over 400 community members in attendance which underscored the importance of children’s healthcare and publicly acknowledged Congresswoman Ellen Tauscher’s leadership on this crtical issue. That September, over 500 letters were hand drawn and written by Contra Costa children and delivered to then First Lady Laura Bush urging her to help support SCHIP expansion.

For over two years, CCISCO and the PICO National Network worked to pass SCHIP legislation. Over the course of five trips to Washington D.C., thirty CCISCO Leaders met with congressional delegations to garner their support for children’s healthcare legislation. These efforts have paid off.

On February 4, with millions of families at risk of losing their jobs and health coverage, President Obama signed historic children’s health legislation to provide healthcare coverage to an additional 4.1 million uninsured children. This builds on the successful SCHIP program and provides vital support for California to cover more eligible children.

PICO Cover all Children Time Line

PICO Cover all Children Campaign Overview

“After years of constant effort, the time has come when our government is willing to serve the children of our country,” said CCISCO Leader Teresa Flores, “I hope that the passing of this legislation at the national level will enable California to move towards providing healthcare for all.”

CCISCO has been working with faith communities and elected officials from both parties to cover uninsured children since 2006. Local leaders have traveled to Washington, DC six times to join with other organizations in the PICO National Network to give testimony and press members of Congress to pass strong child health legislation. PICO organizations have met with over 100 Members of Congress during the process.

The passage of SCHIP will provide $1.5 billion of funding and allow California to move ahead with covering the 2 million children without health insurance. CCISCO will be urging California to use the new funds and tools in the federal legislation to reach out and enroll uninsured children. Now that our federal officials have taken bold action to help children, our state needs to step to the plate to make sure that families can keep their children insured during this economic crisis.

In the upcoming months CCISCO along with the PICO National Network, will be pressing for broader healthcare reform that will be affordable, financially sustainable and cover everyone.

“I had one meeting with my counselor this school year and this was before school began–it lasted about ten minutes and I felt rushed in deciding my classes,” says Liberty High School student Hailey Parish.

Hailey’s experience is all too common for students who have the desire to go to college but lack the resources to make informed decisions about their future.

CCISCO Leaders want to put an end to this cycle and for this reason they have organized an education action on Tuesday, February 24, 2009 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Brentwood with teachers, administrators, school board members and State Superintendent Jack O’Connell.

The event will serve to bring attention to the struggles of students to get a leg up in the current state of the economy and to create changes that will help to serve future generations of high school students.

For more information on the Education Action at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Brentwood, contact Nancy Marquez at (925) 313-0206 x15 or visit the calendar section of the CCISCO website.

Faith leaders from CCISCO have joined with PICO National Network – a nationwide coalition of 1,000 congregations – and the Center for Responsible Lending in releasing a policy paper highlighting the failures of the current voluntary, case-by-case approach to loan modifications.

The paper, entitled Common-Sense Solutions for Saving Homes & Communities, calls for a different approach, one that is comprehensive and could prevent as many as three million of the foreclosures expected in the next several years. The need for this approach comes as both Democratic and Republican members of Congress increasingly agree on the need to help struggling homeowners and as the new White House prepares to announce its foreclosure prevention plan next week.

In addition to policy recommendations, the paper also includes stories of families in California, Florida, and Missouri, struggling to save their homes.

“We received three ‘workout’ loan modifications and still our payments were too high,” said CCISCO Leader Berenice Ramos, “After twenty years of good credit and two years of never missing a single payment [the bank] still didn’t care.”

With approximately 40,000 foreclosures every week ravaging communities across the country and continuing to undermine family wealth and the economy, PICO and CRL point out that most current loan modifications have are too small, and come too late in the process, to substantially decrease the number of foreclosures. They oftentimes lead to short-term workouts that fail because they have not substantially cut a borrower’s monthly payments.

The paper calls on the Obama Administration and Congress to embrace the policies necessary to avoid preventable foreclosures quickly enough and in the numbers needed to make a difference to communities and to the economy, including:

- Requiring all banks receiving taxpayer money under the TARP to adopt the FDIC’s loan modification model, which has been used successfully at IndyMac Federal Bank;

- Lifting the ban on judicial loan modifications, which would prevent hundreds of thousands of foreclosures with no cost to the taxpayer;

- Changing rules so the government can purchase whole loans out of mortgage-backed securities and change other terms of these contracts that now impede reasonable modifications;

- Ensuring mortgage modifications don’t come with income tax burdens that effectively make the loan unaffordable and therefore likely to fall into default again.

As the report states, the current loan modification approach is not working, so CCISCO Leaders in Antioch have decided that they are taking their message to Washington D.C. and launching a cross country caravan to promote the campaign to stop 3 million preventable foreclosures.

The caravan will be leaving Friday, March 6, 2009 from Contra Costa County and will be visiting 10 communities that have been devastated by the foreclosure crisis along the way. They will be rallying support for a proposal to stop preventable foreclosures and meet other PICO National affialiate members together to tell their stories to US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and demand that Congress takes urgent action on this issue.

Antioch, CA – After a very successful town hall action in Antioch last October which consisted of over 800 community members, Bank of America/Countrywide agreed to come to Antioch to provide loan modifications to stop preventable foreclosures in Contra Costa County.

“I want to see all banks working towards keeping people in their homes,” said CCISCO Leader Berenice Ramos, “If we continue getting the banks to work with us, I’m hopeful that we can get Obama’s administration to work on a national policy that helps stop preventable foreclosures.”

The foreclosure crisis has reached epic proportions and is affecting every aspect of the American economy. However, due to the commitment and hard work of CCISCO Leaders and the PICO National Network, the foreclosure issue has remained at the forefront, especially at the federal level. All efforts are focused on stopping preventable foreclosures as the new Obama administration transitions into power.

Locally, CCISCO leaders have been actively organizing to help homeowners stay in their homes and to maintain a strong sense of community in Antioch. This movement has grown and continues to reach across the nation.

Bank of America/Countrywide is just the beginning. As 2009 unfolds, hundreds of homeowners are becoming actively engaged in organizing around other big lenders who have continued to sit on their hands as foreclosures continue to mount.

The modification sessions are scheduled for Thursday, January 15, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. and will be taking place at Antioch Church Family (55 E. 18th Street, Antioch, CA). If you are interested in the loan modification sessions with Bank of America/Countrywide call (925) 313-0206 ext. 14.

Pittsburg, CA – On Monday, January 12, 2009, a diverse group of 250 parents and students came together at St. Peter Martyr Church united to change the prevailing culture of student failure at Pittsburg High School.

“The purpose of tonight’s meeting is to take action,” declared Nancy Borjon, one of the Pittsburg High School parents who co-chaired the event. “We want to build momentum for serious action to be taken to improve teaching and learning at Pittsburg High School.”

The diverse group of parents brought to light the increase of student failure due to the existing assessment process which unjustifiably penalizes students without the proper tutoring or academic direction to succeed. Parents have been organizing and working towards building a common culture which fosters success rather than failure, where parents, teachers, students, administrators, and the community are actively pursuing this important goal for the sake of their children’s futures.

Parents won support from the Pittsburg Unified District school board members; Superintendent Barbara Wilson; and Principal Todd Whitmire to implement a series of recommendations to improve the grading and assessment policy and to improve teaching and learning at Pittsburg High School.

“I want to commend you for bringing this data together,” Pittsburg School Board member Vince Ferrante told the assembled crowd. “You’ve shown that this kind of work can be done by parents in Pittsburg.”

Parents won support for several important reforms including:

* Developing a new communication plan to engage parents and families in a pro-active fashion and strengthening relationships between the school and home;

* Improving the Mastery Center to help students learn from the assessments and improve their performance; Strengthen teacher development and accountability;

* The immediate reinstatement of D’s in the grading policy; and

* Shift the weighting and frequency of the assessment process to allow more classroom time for instruction.

Concord, CA – Over 250 people gathered at Monday night’s Concord City Council meeting to voice their opinions and suggestions for the final vote of the Concord Naval Weapons Station re-use plan.

“We need housing that addresses the needs of all of our communities,” said CCISCO Youth Leader Kleidys Rodriguez, “affordable housing built into this plan is a great opportunity to reflect Concord’s diversity.”

A regional park was also brought to the attention of the City Council as the population continues to grow in Concord.

“We can build a stronger community by supporting local activities,” CCISCO Youth Leader Maria Hidalgo told the City Council, “a regional park will attract people from different cities who can invest in our city and will also provide recreation for youth and families here in Concord.”

The city council took Hidalgo’s suggestion to heart. After years of deliberation involving virtually every Concord agency, numerous consultants, and thousands of community residents, and input from CCISCO Leaders, the Concord City Council voted in support of the clustered village alternative with strong considerations for open space, affordable housing, living wage jobs and local hiring policies.

“This is not a developer driven plan, this is a citizen driven plan,” said Councilmember Guy Bjerke. With three of the five Council members strongly advocating for affordable housing policies which will improve the lives of Concord residents in the near future, and four out of five Council members expressing support for new local hiring policies, there is no doubt about the amount of consideration taken for the future of a thriving and economically sustainable Concord.

At Monday night’s meeting, City Council members expressed first stage approval for some of the following key features to be included in the Concord Naval Weapons Station re-use:

* 3,200 acres of parkland and open space; 64 percent of the base’s 5,028 inland acres, along with a robust trail system, including almost all land east of the creek to the ridgeline. The amount originally proposed was 50%, but was broken up and fragmented by development. A Regional Park which is nearly 2,400 acres –a mile wide and 4 miles long, an area bigger than Tilden Regional Park — including almost everything east of the creek and everything south of Bailey Road.

* A widened urban linear park along the neighborhoods from the original 50-100′ proposed, from the recent proposal of 180′ – 350′ – 450′ (the width varies), to last night’s go ahead for an increase to 275′ – 400′ – 490′. This also preserves the experimental forest areas along the Weapons Station boundary.

* Support for a dense, mixed use, walkable, bikable transit-oriented development near North Concord BART, with transit villages in the bunker city area west of the creek which could also benefit transit in the neighborhoods to the west and throughout the city, including 12,300 housing units and 26,000 jobs.

* A 150 acre Cal State campus, near research/commercial areas.

* Protection of a 300′ wide, 5 mile long Mt. Diablo creek corridor.

* $38 million for the homeless housing component of the integrated affordable housing model.

* Strong verbal support for prevailing wage, living wage and apprenticeships.

* Significant acreages for community facilities such as schools, community centers, and large urban parks in which other amenities can be located.

Antioch, CA – On Monday, October 27, 2008, CCISCO and PICO National Network organized the largest community action around the foreclosure crisis to date and the first national event led by community leaders impacted by the crisis. Over 800 residents packed the hall as they shared their proposals for action at a national, state, and local level with public officials and bank representatives.

On stage at the parish hall, CCISCO leader Rosario Frisse told the assembled crowd to close their eyes and count to ten. Working men and women, mothers holding their babies, school kids doing their homework all did as she asked. “In the time that it took for us to count to ten,” Frisse said, “another family in America has lost their home.”

11/01 – Wall Street Journal – FDIC Plan Tests Limits of Leniency

10/28 – Contra Costa Times – Hundreds attend Antioch event in effort to stem home foreclosures

10/28 – CNN.com – Faith Based Groups Fight Foreclosures

10/27 – Bloomberg – California Faith Groups Fight Banks on Foreclosures

10/27 – San Francisco Chronicle – Faith-based effort to avert foreclosures

10/27 – KRON 4 – Foreclosure Filings Continue to Grow

10/24 – USA Today – Programs are available to help struggling homeowners

Twenty-one PICO organizations participated in the event, either in person or watching as the event was broadcast live on the internet. A”virtual” National Roll Call, with eleven PICO organizations from eight states called into the action to declare their support for the campaign. To watch the recorded event click here

“With more than 1,000 regional congregations and 1 million families working in 150 cities and towns, PICO is one of the largest grassroots community in the United States,” PICO representative Gloria Cooper said to the cheers of the crowd. “So you know you’re connected to something big. In November, hundreds of people will go to Washington, DC with one common message: work with us! We want to keep our families in their homes!”

The town hall meeting was the first in a series of actions to be held across the country by PICO affiliates. PICO is pressing the Treasury Department to require banks that it invests in to develop systematic protocols for modifying the mortgages of families facing foreclosure, based on a proven approach developed by the FDIC in its takeover of IndyMac.

The foreclosure crisis is affecting communities in an unprecedented manner. Cities like Antioch suddenly find themselves in a downward spiral of foreclosures. “Often times we hear about the numbers, but we never see the faces,” Antioch Mayor Don Freitas said. Here in the city of Antioch at the end of September, we had 3,829 foreclosures in this community. That’s more than 10 percent of all the houses that this community has – more than 10 percent.”

Crime and blight are starting to become prevalent in cities with high foreclosure rates. Mayor Freitas added, “We have illegal activities occurring in these homes. Everything is dying. It brings the other property values down lower, and lower and lower. So when you ask, will the city of Antioch stand up to help you? The answer is, yes.”

“We’re finding our homeless population is changing because of what is happening in foreclosures and people that have found themselves in disarray because of the way that predatory lenders have done their business,” said Contra Costa County Supervisor Federal Glover. An increase in homelessness has been attributed to the number of families who find themselves evicted from their homes.

PICO leaders from across the country gave testimonies regarding their experiences with the way some banks have essentially turned their backs on homeowners. “It’s like in medieval times, where the kings are in their castles and the subjects are outside trying to get a crust of bread,” testified Kansas City Communities Creating Opportunity leader Mary Rabon who flew in for the event. Seferino Leon testified about losing his home, only to see it sold at auction for half of what he had paid, far less than he had offered the bank during his countless attempts to modify his loan. Marian Youngblood from Kansas City testified of her experience as a loan officer in Kansas City and being trained to falsify income amounts on applications and watching borrowers fall behind on their second payment. “As a Christian, it broke my heart,” she said. So she quit.

The demands were simple. A freeze on foreclosures. Rewrite loan agreements so families can stay in their homes and peg mortgage payments to 34% of the family’s income. Prior to the event, CCISCO and the PICO National Network released a report entitled “Too Big To Fail: How broad-based detailing their recommendations.

By the end of the night some significant commitments were made which included:

1. Bank of America/Countrywide agreed to work with PICO affiliates in 25 cities to help families facing foreclosure benefit from a new legal settlement that applies FDIC-type loan modification protocols to borrowers who had Countrywide mortgages.

2. An FDIC representative agreed to help set up a meeting between PICO clergy and faith leaders and FDIC Chair Sheila Bair in November.

3. State legislators committed to introducing new legislation to address the foreclosure crisis during the special session to be convened in the coming weeks.

4. Local and county officials in Northern California agreed to include community residents in developing a plan to use federal neighborhood stabilization funds to help Contra Costa County, CA respond to the foreclosure crisis.

5. Contra Costa County officials agreed to work to create a new Foreclosure Diversion program that channels people at-risk of losing their homes into mandatory mediation with lenders.

Mike Gross, representing Bank of America and Countrywide, agreed to developing a national agreement to work with PICO and CCISCO to implement their proposals for addressing the foreclosure crisis and keeping families in their homes. “It is just plain good business for Bank of America,” he said.

The next steps in the National Campaign include:

1. Wells Fargo: Despite having received nearly $25 billion in public investment and having serviced over $83 billion in sub-prime loans in 2006, Wells Fargo, which was invited to participate 6 weeks ago, and has been in negotiations with PICO, chose not to attend the action. PICO leaders have requested a face-to-face meeting with Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf within sixty days to enter into meaningful negotiations to develop a corporate policy that adopts systematic loan modification.

2. U.S. Treasury: PICO clergy and faith leaders announced that they would travel to Washington, DC on November 18 to meet with Treasury officials to press for a comprehensive approach to preventing foreclosure through mass loan modification and stronger efforts to put bank-owned vacant property back into the hands of families. Faith leaders across the country are invited to sign onto to a national statement calling for a new approach to the foreclosure crisis that will be delivered to Secretary Paulson in November.

This is just the beginning of a national campaign and PICO organizations across the country are preparing to hold similar events. Events have already been scheduled in Kansas City, Missouri and San Jose, California. In November, hundreds of PICO leaders will carry this message to Washington. As CCISCO leader Raul DeAnda said, “Secretary Paulson, if you are watching at home: PICO is coming to Washington!” To which the attendees cheered and chanted “Si se puede, yes we can!”

In these dark economic times, families across the country have their first glimmer of hope that they just might get some help from Washington after all. With the passing of the State Children’s Health Initiative Program (SCHIP) by the House of Representatives today the renewal of hope now lays on the hands of the senate.

As unemployment rises and more and more families lose their health insurance, the Senate is poised to pass legislation to expand the successful State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), with Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying she wants legislation on President-elect Obama’s desk by Inauguration Day.

For the millions of parents whose children lack health care, and for the millions more who worry about their children losing their existing coverage as the economy falters, the immediate passage of SCHIP is a crucial first step towards broader economic recovery.

In 2008, the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured released a report showing that, for every 1 percent increase in the unemployment rate, the number of people who enroll in SCHIP or Medicaid increases by 1 million while an additional 1.1 million join the ranks of the uninsured. This means that if unemployment rises to 10 percent – as some economists think it will – an additional 5 million people could be looking to enroll in SCHIP or Medicaid, including 3 million children. Without strengthening SCHIP, states could not withstand such a huge increase in applicants, which would in turn leave millions of more children uninsured.

For state governments facing huge budget deficits, an expanded SCHIP also means more health care funding passing through their states at a time when it’s needed most. In order to give states the confidence they need to maintain and expand their programs, however, the Senate needs to assure a minimum of four years of funding.

For nearly three years, faith leaders from CCISCO have joined together with sister organizations in the PICO National Network and child health advocacy organizations in a nationwide campaign to expand health care to the nation’s 8.6 million uninsured children. Despite numerous setbacks, we have remained steadfast in our faith in our nation’s leaders to do the right thing for our children.

Kicking off a broader economic recovery agenda by addressing children’s health is not only the most compassionate first step that the Senate can take, it can also build the common ground we need for tackling the larger issues of health reform, job growth, and foreclosure relief. There are few places where the grip of ideology breaks down more than when dealing with what’s good for our children.

During a time of crisis, people turn to their faith communities for both spiritual and physical nourishment. As a faith-based community organization, our member congregations are seeing the on-the-ground effects of the current economic crisis, including increasing numbers of families losing their jobs, their health insurance, and their homes. Let’s pray that immediate passage of SCHIP is the Senate’s first step towards once again putting families first and helping everyday Americans get to work rebuilding their communities.

Sincerely,

Fr. Jerry Brown

Immaculate Heart of Mary, Brentwood

Washington, D.C. – CCISCO leaders along with over 200 PICO leaders from across the country gathered in prayer on November 18 in front of the Treasury Building before delivering a letter signed by 500 faith leaders calling on Treasury Secretary Paulson to adopt a mass mortgage modification plan that would keep as many as 2 million families from losing their homes.

“We want them to look at the bigger picture. Don’t just look at Wall Street, look at Main Street. Look at the man next door who is working hard and really paying taxes,” said Minister Marvin Webb, CCISCO leader from Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church in Richmond, California. “We are asking the secretary and Congress to keep people in their homes.”

1/05 – MSN Real Estate – Banks Ignore Stuggles of Responsible Borrowers

12/26 – PBS Religion and Ethics Newsweekly – Churches and the Foreclosure Crisis

11/29 – Washington Post – Coming Together in a Crisis

11/20 – CNN American Morning – Dear God, Save My House

11/18 – USA Today – Clergy rally in D.C. for homeowner protections

11/18 – AP – More Negative Signs for US Housing Market

Representatives from cities where the foreclosure crisis has hit the hardest held signs displaying the number of people facing foreclosures, while people who have lost their homes gave their personal accounts. Webb prayed between each testimony.

“Remove the veil between the people of this nation and the people in authority. Pierce the veil of Secretary Paulson and Congress and move in their hearts today,” Webb prayed, while the crowd shouted, “Wake up! Wake up, Secretary Paulson!”

CCISCO leaders have demonstrated that when there is tremendous pain in the community, their voices will be heard.

“It’s too late for me, but it’s not late for millions of people that are going through the same pain,” said CCISCO leader Berenice Ramos of Holy Rosary Church in Antioch as she testified outside the stone pillars of the Treasury Department, where hundreds staged the morning prayer session.

In the coming weeks, PICO will hold public negotiations with officials in cities where foreclosure numbers are high. While in Washington, CCISCO and PICO leaders met with House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank and Senior Obama transition officials to ask for their help in keeping people in their homes.

“We want them to see the faces of people who are distressed. We want them to take the power they have and adjust loans and mortgages so people can stay in their houses,” Webb said.

Also a priority for the Washington D.C. trip was the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). CCISCO Leaders, PICO clergy and other religious leaders met with Senate Finance Committee Staff Director, Russ Sullivan; Senior Health Staff for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell; and dozens of Congressional and Senate offices, to urge quick passage of the SCHIP program and an increase in Medicaid payments to states as first steps in the road to comprehensive health reform.

Pittsburg, CA – On Wednesday, December 10, 2008, over 100 leaders, parents, teachers, and students presented their research findings regarding the effects of assessment tests on student achievement to the Pittsburg Unified School District.

With the exception of 11th grade English (23% failing), students range from over 50% failing in English to 61-78% failing in Math. These staggering statistics coupled with a lack of resources to address academic failure has left students discouraged and defeated.

12/10 – Contra Costa Times – Concerned parents ask Pittsburg district for better assessment process

“I study and study, often to 2:00 AM in the morning. I do all my work, and still I continue to fail. It is so frustrating”, said student Elizabeth Aguirre as she broke into tears during her testimony.

Parents expressed the concern that they have not been given the tools to help their children. The lack of extra-curricular help has left students falling further and further behind with very little to show except for more assessments tests.

“It is important to test, but we need teachers who can adequately prepare them. The way we have now is not working,” says Brenda Scott mother of a 10th grader at Pittsburg High School.

The research report revealed that parents have not given up on their children.

Parents envision a Pittsburg High School where every student graduates prepared for life: ready for college or career. They are working to help build a common culture, one that fosters success rather than failure, where parents, teachers, students, administration, and community are of one accord in reaching this important goal.

“The assessments are failing our students both emotionally and academically. We want the Pittsburg School Board to know that we are tired of our hard working students failing,” says Sophia Hernandez, mother of a 9th grader at Pittsburg High School.

Oakley, CA – On Sunday, November 16, 2008, CCISCO leaders at St. Anthony’s Church organized a health enrollment day in conjunction with Contra Costa Health Services which helped over 30 families sign up for Healthy Families, Medi-Cal, Health Coverage Initiative and Basic Healthcare.

“It was so easy and convenient. I had previously tried to inquire about a program for my husband and was told he had to call himself. Of course that’s hard when he works during business office hours. But since he doesn’t work on Sundays he was able to attend the event with me. The counselor considered every member in my family for eligibility, now we’re all insured,” said Guadalupe Espinoza.

Over a dozen CCISCO leaders were trained as volunteers to help streamline the process for enrollment and facilitated and directed people to specific programs for which they qualify for. Recently, with the country in recession, Contra Costa County has experienced a rise in uninsured residents due to the high number of layoffs. Healthcare has become a growing concern as we head into the new year. We look forward to replicating the streamlined approach to other parts of the county to ensure that residents are aware of their options.

The event at St. Anthony’s was a pilot event to launch an ongoing campaign for public outreach and enrollment in health coverage programs for uninsured children and adults. The event was the result of a campaign launched in the Spring of 2007 where over 400 leaders gathered to advance reforms to improve access to health care for families across Contra Costa.

CCISCO and the Contra Costa Health Services will be conducting similar enrollment events in the near future in hopes of stemming the number of uninsured in the county and are planning a next event for Richmond, California in the coming months.

For more information on free and low cost healthcare call Contra Costa Health Services 1-877-503-9350 and ask about the Healthy Families, Medi-Cal, or Basic Healthcare programs.

CCISCO played a major role in getting out the vote for the November 4, 2008 election by organizing more than 220 youth in 22 precincts on a door to door campaign in Antioch, Concord, Oakley, Pittsburg, and Richmond. 10,000 voters were contacted and 3,000 were turned out on Election Day.

In Richmond, CCISCO youth leaders had an impact on important local initiatives, such as Measure T which will provide nearly $26 million in new funding to vital city services.

“In order to have a voice, you have to vote,” said 19-year-old Richmond resident, Ryan Cowart.

10/05 – KCBS 106.9 FM – Young People Encourage Richmond Residents to Vote (Print Article)

Click to Listen to the KCBS Report here

And vote they did. Youth were instrumental in both encouraging potential voters by making their message clear, “We’re too young to vote, but you can!”

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of youth, CCISCO has created a solid foundation for future elections at the local, state and national level which will serve to make the community’s voice heard.

Foreclosure Action Flyer.pdf

TOO BIG TO FAIL Report.pdf

Antioch, CA–CCISCO and PICO National have organized a massive town hall meeting on Monday, October 27, 2008 in Antioch to address the foreclosure crisis that is tearing communities apart and driving the economy down. Representatives from major banks, the FDIC and local state and federal politicians will listen to the concerns of homeowners as they present a real solution to the foreclosure crisis.

Homeowners are asking that the Treasury and lenders follow the lead of the FDIC, which successfully implemented broad-based loan modification when it seized IndyMac Bancorp. Bank of America recently agreed to adopt similar protocols as part of a predatory lending settlement with the Attorney generals and banking regulators from eleven states.

The FDIC/IncyMac protocols are already helping thousands of families get back on track on their mortgage payments. The following is a list of terms that would benefit families facing foreclosure and the economy at large:

1. The Treasury should adopt the FDIC protocols for laons that it purchases as part of the bailout legislation, and should pressure servicers to adopt their protocols when it owns a partial stake in the mortgage.

2. Broad-based loan modification should apply to sub-prime, option ARM and other Alt-A mortgage loans.

3. Monthly payments should be reduced to 34 percent of monthly income.

4. When interest rate reductions are not sufficient to reduce monthly payments to 34 percent of monthly income, loan modifications should include principal deductions.

By extending these protocols to all families facing foreclosure, it will help prevent people from losing their homes and stop falling property values.

Broad-based loan modification is a win-win for borrowers and investors, including tax payers who are on the hook for bad loans. According to Sheila Bair, head of the FDIC, restoring troubled loans into performing ones yields 87 cents on the dollar for a mortgage later sold, compared to 32 cents for a non-performing mortgage.

The event will be video-cast live on the web and congregations in 15 other cities in six states will participate by webcast and phone. The PICO National Network, comprised of 53 faith-based organizations and 1,000 religious congregations, and its local affiliate, Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization, say the government and lenders must adopt systemic foreclosure prevention strategies that go beyond the current failed case-by-case approach to loan modification.

Foreclosure Action Flyer_October 27 2008.pdf

RICHMOND

On Saturday, October 4, 2008 a diverse group of over 80 youth from across Richmond went door to door across the flatlands of Richmond to register voters and encourage residents to get out and vote.

“Young people have always been at the forefront of creating change in our country,” declared CCISCO leader Minister Marvin Webb of Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church at the orientation. “People will remember October 4, 2008 as the day that young people began to reclaim the City of Richmond.”

Youth contacted approximately 900 Richmond voters and registered an additional 43 new voters. The effort is completely non-partisan and focused on educating community residents about the upcoming election, registering all non-registered citizens and encouraging all Richmond citizens to vote this November. Youth will conduct final weekend get out the vote efforts and operating an Election Day “poll check” operation to ensure that all of the voters that are contacted make their voices heard on November 4th. Another group of youth leaders are preparing to go door to door on Saturday, October 18th.

Youth distributed literature about several important local and statewide ballot initiatives: Measure D: the renewal of the parcel tax to support local public schools; Measure T: the business license fee increase on large manufacturers that would generate an estimated $16 million in new revenues for Richmond; and against Proposition 6: which would change existing law so more children as young as 14 years old will be tried as adults and relegated to the criminal justice system.

“You are all like warriors in the fight to reclaim our communities,” Linda Salinas of Youth Together and Richmond High School told the group as they prepared to go door-to-door.

“It felt good to go out and take action,” shared Charles Connor, Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church youth leader and Middle College High School student. “So many people told us how good it was to see young people leading the way.”

CONCORD

On Saturday, October 11, over 30 high school and community college students gathered together to precinct walk Concord’s Monument Corridor. Two precincts were targeted in an effort to increase voter turnout in this coming election. The precinct walk was a non-partisan example of community organizing on behalf of committed and talented youth.

“We know we\re making a difference by reminding people to come out and vote on election day,” said Kleydis Rodriguez, “It was fun going door to door and talking face to face with people.”

CCISCO ACTIVE CITIZENSHIP CAMPAIGN ROLL CALL (participating institutions):

Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church

Contra Costa College baseball team

Go Get It Program

Easter Hill United Methodist Church

La Raza

Leadership High School

Nystrom United Revitalization Effort (NURVE)

Poetry for the People

Richmond High School

S.A.G.E.

St. Cornelius School

St. Mark’s Church

Seventh Avenue Baptist Church

Sojourner Truth Presbyterian Church

Youth Together

Millions of Voters Register in Swing States

Brentwood, CA–On Wednesday, October 15th over 30 students and their parents attended a Spanish Financal Aid workshop as part of the organizing that has taken place at Liberty High School within the past year.

Youth Leaders have been actively working to ensure that Liberty High is a model for other local schools by developing a system that gives every student the opportunity to be ready and qualified to attend college.

The recent release of the true high school drop-out rates brings to light the many challenges facing our state educational system. Although the recent numbers are sad, CCISCO sees it as an opportunity to focus on working towards increasing graduation rates and ensuring that all students achieve their potential.

CCISCO conducted a community needs assessment that revealed that oftentimes students are not receiving information early enough to prepare for college admission. This is the case especially in the spanish speaking community of Oakley. A bilingual college night is the first of its kind to begin the dissemination of information to students who want to get ahead.

Parent engagement has been they key approach to fostering the development of all students as well as providing support from Liberty High for its student population. Outreach, especially in different languages is essential in keeping parents and students at the forefront of education and the jobs of the future.

Richmond-On September 30, 2008, CCISCO leaders at St. Mark’s organized a citizenship drive at St. Mark’s Church in the heart of the Iron Triangle as a way to take action and uphold the principles of democracy and the constitution.

Mayor Gayle McLaughlin and Supervisor John Gioia attended the event to encourage immigrants to be part of the broader society. Both Mayor McLaughlin and Supervisor Gioia the opportunity to listen to concerns from the community regarding the unconstitutional seizure of people’s property at police checkpoints.

CCISCO Leaders at St. Mark’s Church recognize the connection between voting and having their concerns addressed and met. Through civic participation, they feel that the city of Richmond and this country can be a better place to live for working families.

In Contra Costa County, there are 53,114 immigrants who are eligible to naturalize and an estimated 14,000 reside here in Richmond. There are also 28,036 children of immigrants who will turn 18 by the year 2012.

“This citizenship drive has the potential to really transform our democracy. However, if we do not become citizens, if we do not vote, if we do not participate then nothing will change,” said CCISCO leader Jessica Peregrina, “It doesn’t matter who you are or how you came to this country, democracy needs everyone.”

Community residents who do not qualify to apply for citizenship at this time will receive a training on their constitutional rights in the spirit of upholding the principles of democracy.

In a coordinated effort to increase voter turnout, CCISCO has organized the Active Citizenship Campaign in Richmond with plans to expand out to Central and East Contra Costa County cities.

CCISCO will provide hands-on training to at least 100 Richmond youth and young adults in how to help promote active participation in the democratic process and contact at least 10,000 Richmond voters with a message of hope for change.

“This is about creating a culture of participation in our communities,” stated George Harris, CCISCO leader and long-time Richmond resident. “A great change is happening in Richmond and we want our young people to be in the forefront of this change.”

In Richmond, CCISCO leaders will be targeted 15 precincts nearly 30% of the total precincts in the City. Across Contra Costa County, CCISCO leaders are going to run a comprehensive voter registration and get out the vote effort targeting 25 precincts with a high number of “less than frequent” voters. CCISCO will be providing a stipend to any congregation or school youth group that volunteers to participate in the effort. This effort will be completely non-partisan and will focus on educating community residents about the upcoming election, registering all non-registered citizens and encouraging all citizens to vote this November.

Easter Hill United Methodist Church will be hosting the first voter registration and GOTV training on Saturday, September 13th from 10:00am to 12:00noon at EHUMC in 3911 Cutting Boulevard in Richmond.

Richmond 2008 Active Citizenship Campaign registration form.pdf

Brentwood–In an effort to make the citizenship process less complex and community oriented, CCISCO Leaders at Immaculate Heart of Mary organized a citizenship drive on Tuesday, August 5, 2008.

The event served to inform community residents of the importance of becoming a citizen as well as helped 22 lawful permanent residents complete their applications and beat the October 1, deadline.

The new proposed changes to the citizenship test will be affecting those submitting applications after October 1, 2008. Those who apply prior to the deadline will take the old test.

As the new test deadline nears, CCISCO leaders have taken active steps in organizing two more upcoming citizenship drives in Richmond and Concord to help lawful permanent residents achieve their dream of becoming citizens.

Upcoming CCISCO Citizenship Drives:

*****Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2008 at 6:00 p.m.*****

St. Mark’s Church, 159 Harbour Way South, Richmond, CA 94804

*****Sunday, Sept. 28, 2008 at 10:00 a.m.*****

Queen of all Saints Church, 2390 Grant Street, Concord, CA 94520

For more information call Apolonio at (925) 313-0206 ext. 10

by Rev. Jerry Brown and Rev. Olman Solis

As clergy and faith leaders we believe that every human being is created in the image of God, and that each individual life is sacred. As a community of faith we are responsible for doing our share to guarantee life. Something is wrong when over 18,000 children and adults die each year because they lack health insurance and therefore don’t receive the adequate and routine health care they need.

Health care is a unique gift capable of restoring and sustaining life. What better way to give life to one another than by guaranteeing people’s access to health care. Our community of faith has an obligation to make it possible for each person to have quality health care that protects the most vulnerable.

Under Governor Schwarzenegger’s proposal, 2,410 children in Contra Costa County would lose their health care. These are children who are currently eligible for existing health care programs, to say nothing of the tens of thousands of children who have no access to health care. In addition, the Governor’s proposal would result in severe cuts to public education and vital services for children, families, and services.

As faith leaders of large religious congregations in Contra Costa County, we see the pressing needs in our community every day. Programs such as Loaves and Fishes and the St. Vincent de Paul Society play a vital role in meeting these needs, but they are already overwhelmed. We need to protect many of the vital services that provide essential supports to our families and seniors.

On July 8th, the Budget Conference Committee proposed a compromise that would balance the state’s budget with a combination of cuts and new revenues. Although it is far from perfect, this compromise proposal takes a more balanced approach to solving the budget than the Governor’s “cuts only” proposal, by raising $8 billion in new revenue in order to protect California’s schools, seniors and people with disabilities.

The compromise proposal would still make significant cuts to public services. But it rejects many of the harshest proposals put forth by the Governor, such as the severe cuts to Medi-Cal, IHSS, and schools by only half as much as the Governor proposed.

Because California law requires a 2/3 vote to pass a budget, any budget proposal must get 54 votes in the Assembly and 27 votes in the Senate. This means that a budget proposal needs members of both parties to vote for it.

We are calling on all of our representatives in the California legislature to work together and compromise for the common good. We urge you to participate in the democratic process and contact your representatives and voice your concern.

Sincerely,

Fr. Jerry Brown, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Brentwood

Rev. Brian Stein Webber, Director of Interfaith

Antioch-On the evening of Friday, July 18, 2008, 100 homeowners faced with the possibility of foreclosure gathered to speak with representatives from Washington Mutual Bank to renegotiate the terms of their home loans in order to stabilize their families and their sense of community.

Community members have grown tired of being given the run-around over the phone and have taken matters into their own hands by developing a strategy for getting banks to meet face-to-face with homeowners.

“The person I spoke to on the phone said they would only give me a week and that by Monday I would be evicted.” said CCISCO leader Carlos Ramirez who had not missed a single payment in more than two years before his mortgage increased dramatically.

After months of organizing, those efforts have paid off as Washington Mutual has become the first bank to meet face-to-face with community members. The community applauds Washington Mutual for stepping up and working together with families to modify loans.

“At Washington Mutual, we are committed to doing everything we can to keep families in their homes,” said Washington Mutual representative Sondra Edwards.

Washington Mutual has committed to the following principles for the loan modification:

1) Provide staff that can meet face-to-face with borrowers in the community;

2) Lower interest rates;

3) Convert adjustable rate loans to fixed rate loans for the long term;

4) Reduce the amount of money owed in order to stabilize families

Housing counselors from ACORN, Catholic Charities of the East Bay, and TODOS UNIDOS were present to mediate and document the loan modifications. The City of Antioch and Mayor Donald Freitas have endorsed this effort and are encouraging other lenders to commit to conducting similar sessions in the near future.

Contra Costa Times – Frustrated Homeowners Discuss Loan Changes With Bank

ABC 7 News – People Lined Up to Get Mortgage Help

Oakley—On June 24, 2008, the City of Oakley unanimously approved a resolution in support of the establishment of a healthcare clinic.

The resolution calls upon the County and other medical providers to “take the necessary steps to establish the clinic.”

The satellite clinic would serve to expand healthcare access to thousands of East County residents.

Amid growing concerns over state budget cuts, CCISCO leaders have continued to work hard to keep families covered. With Federal D. Glover and County Supervisor Mary Piepho committed to healthcare, the issue will remain at the forefront of county needs.

City of Oakley Satellite Clinic Resolution

Oakley—On Sunday, May 18, 2008, as part of CCISCO’s commitment to improving health access in Contra Costa County and ensuring a healthy democracy, CCISCO leaders at St. Anthony’s Church in Oakley gave an update on the state of healthcare in East Contra Costa County. The presentation was followed by a citizenship drive that helped 30 lawful permanent residents complete their citizenship applications with the help of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the California Human Development.

“Our local organizing committees in Oakley and Brentwood are proud to share that we have been working together to respond to our communities needs by holding today’s healthcare update and citizenship workshop,” said CCISCO Leader Teresa Flores, “We envision a community that is strong, healthy, thriving and involved.”

Federal D. Glover and County Supervisor Mary Piepho committed to continue fighting for Basic Healthcare and to bringing a satellite clinic to East Contra Costa County. “We are committed to the healthcare needs of the East County community,” said County Supervisor Mary Piepho.

Healthcare has been an important issue in East Contra County as a survey conducted last spring of 500 people revealed that 40% of the participants lacked healthcare and 25% suffered from a medical condition for which they were not receiving treatment.

Significant gains have been made in securing a location for the satellite clinic with La Clinica de la Raza and Basic Healthcare remains on the table despite recent budget cuts in the County. The city of Oakley has agreed to introduce a formal resolution in support of the satellite clinic in the upcoming months.

“As you can see, ordinary people like us have lots of power it’s just a matter of exercising it, said CCISCO Leader Teresa Del Real, “We look forward to working together to create future success in our community.”

Contra Costa Times – Community Briefs

Antioch—CCISCO leaders from Holy Rosary Church in Antioch organized a protest to bring attention to the lack of response from banks as community residents face foreclosure on their homes. Over 50 people gathered in front of Bank of America Bank, Bank of the West, Wachovia Bank, and Washington Mutual Bank to bring to light the inactivity and complete disregard for the concerns of homeowners—a concern that has led to frustration.Many hard-working and employed homeowners have not received face-to-face meetings to discuss their home loan terms despite numerous attempts to make contact with the banks.

The prevailing practice by banks is to systematically turn their backs on home owners. Leaders want a stop to this practice and are calling on banks to have face-to-face meetings with community members to modify loans.

“A lot of us are going into foreclosure, or in danger of going into foreclosure,” said protester Luis Flores, who could no longer keep up with the $4,000 monthly payment on the home he’s lived in for seven years. “It came down to paying the bank or buying food.”

Ratings agency Moody’s recently released the results of a survey it conducted of the modification practices of subprime mortgage servicers regarding borrowers that have or will experience an interest rate reset on their loans in either 2007 or 2008. Sixteen servicers with a total servicing volume of approximately $950 billion, or roughly 80% of the market, provided data. “Specifically, the survey showed that most servicers had only modified approximately 1% of their serviced loans that experienced a reset in the months of January, April and July 2007.” (from report: “The Chasm Between Words and Deeds: Lenders Not Modifying Loans as They Say to Avoid Foreclosures” released by the California Reinvestment Coalition).

Washington Mutual claims to have held foreclosure workshops and that they have hired a new employee to begin addressing the foreclosure issue in Antioch. Bank of America, Bank of the West and Wachovia declined to comment.

The Holy Rosary Organizing Committee has been working to develop solutions to the foreclosure crisis in Antioch for the past five months. Leaders organized a foreclosure prevention workshop with over 200 participants in March 1, 2008 and have surveyed over 100 community members to identify barriers to saving their home. Leaders are targeting these institutions based on the results of those surveys and the difficulties that community members have had in getting their loans modified.

ABC News Link

Oakland—On May 8, 2008, East Bay Housing Organizations’ (EBHO) recognized CCISCO’s long history of fighting for affordable housing for working families in Concord and across the county. The recognition was presented to Roberto Peña, CCISCO leader at St. Francis of Assisi Church, by Concord’s Council Member Guy Bjerke.

“CCISCO helps everyday people win extraordinary victories, not by speaking for them, but by providing a vehicle for them to speak, act and engage in the public arena for themselves,” said Council Member Bjerke.

Peña emphasized that the current housing and economic situation that has hit Contra Costa County has put many families at risk of becoming homeless and in urgent need of affordable housing. “I am honored to receive this recognition on behalf of the working families in my community, said Peña, “I want to invite all of you to renew our commitment to making affordable housing a priority.”

CCISCO leaders have been active participants in the Community Coalition for a Sustainable Concord, a broad-based coalition of labor, environmental groups, neighborhood associations, affordable housing developers, and the faith community. The coalition has united to advance a progressive vision for the re-use of the Concord Naval Weapons Station, the largest new development project in the entire Bay Area. CCISCO is helping to engage dozens of low-income immigrants from the Monument Corridor to have a voice in the planning process and to highlight the importance of affordable housing for working families.

Pittsburg—On Wednesday, April 16, 2008, CCISCO leaders and La Clinica held an action at St. Peter Martyr Church that brought over 150 people to call for an increase in jobs and job-creation for the city of Pittsburg. The proposal for a labor resource center and a local hiring policy that ensures jobs for local residents in the community met with strong support from city officials and police.

“When a public official sees people gathering like this it shows that these issues are important—I am committed and in support of the development of a local labor resource center,” said Pittsburg City council member Sal Evola, “it would give me great pleasure if all of these new jobs went to local residents.”

Recent research has demonstrated that on average 81% of Pittsburg community members commute 37 minutes to work while the national average is 26 minutes. There is, however, an opportunity for local jobs on the horizon with the expansion of eBART into Pittsburg.

There are two major projects currently in the works for the creation of jobs in Pittsburg. The eBART expansion which will generate new jobs in construction and retail and the new $93 million, 340,000 square foot pipe mill which will create 165 jobs. The labor center and a local hiring policy would be the pathway to link the community with these new job opportunities.

Part of the commitments made at the action were to convene a task force of local employers to help find solutions for residents looking for work in North Park Plaza to ensure that they are safe and have adequate resources.

“We’ve enjoyed an ongoing relationship with CCISCO for the last three years and we are committed to ensuring that the rights of workers and businesses are protected,” said Captain Nick Baker, City of Pittsburg Police Department.

The need for the job resource center was further underscored by the fact that 30% of workers did not receive pay for one or more days of work, 25% of them had been abandoned on the street without pay and only 2% had access to health coverage.

“Because you come from elsewhere does not mean that you should be treated with less dignity than anyone else in your adopted country,” said Chief of Staff David Fraser, “Supervisor Glover and I are committed to help in every way possible.”

Concord–On Saturday, April 5, 2008 at 10:00 a.m., over two hundred people attended the Citizenship Drive and Educational Workshops hosted by St. Francis of Assisi in response to growing anti-immigrant sentiment and to publicize the desire for immigrants to have a voice on the issues that affect their community. The event featured workshops on pressing issues in the community namely, Education, Immigrant Rights and the re-use of the Concord Naval Weapons Station. As a result of the event, 40 people in attendance completed their citizenship application after detailed review and quality control.

“Democracy is not a spectator sport,” said Concord Councilmember Guy Bjerke, “I want to thank you all for coming here today and participating in the democratic process.”

The event was organized by Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) to help the immigrant community of Concord become civically engaged. “We are here to establish clear goals: we want to participate in our democracy, learn English and vote in elections,” said CCISCO Leader Roberto Peña. The creation of new citizens also serves as a way to unify the Concord community. “We want to build bridges and unite our immigrant and non-immigrant communities together—to have everyone as one unified community,” added Peña.

Local youth played a major role in organizing the event’s educational workshops. The youth of Concord have taken up leadership roles to make education for all a reality. “We want a community where young people can dream and reach their goal of attending a university. A community where your legal status or your economic background isn’t a barrier to success,” said CCISCO Youth Leader, Kleydis Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a participant in the Go Get It! Program which offers academic support and guidance to students and their parents from the Monument Corridor at Mt. Diablo High School and Ygnacio Valley High School.

Those in attendance included, Councilmember Guy Bjerke, Congressman Miller’s Field Representative Terry Kelly-Farias, and representatives from the Concord Naval Weapons Station Reuse Michael Wright and Mayra Madriz.

Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO) is helping to make citizenship a community-driven process by creating ways for eligible residents to become citizens together. As part of the citizenship drive, trained volunteers, lawyers and local non-profit organizations have joined PICO Bay Area to facilitate the citizenship application (N-400) process to ensure a free, quality controlled service. Once the process is complete, applicants will be connected with local Civics and English as a Second Language (ESL) courses to learn the knowledge necessary to fulfill their dream of becoming citizens. The citizenship campaign will create citizens who will register to vote and be able to vote on critical issues that affect their communities.

CCISCO is part of the PICO Bay Area, a network of seven congregation-based community organizations in five counties across the Bay Area, including: Berkeley Organizing Congregations for Action (BOCA); Congregations Organizing for Renewal (COR-South Alameda County); Contra Costa Interfaith Supporting Community Organization (CCISCO); Oakland Community Organizations (OCO); People Acting in Community Together (PACT-Santa Clara); Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA-San Mateo & Santa Clara); and the San Francisco Organizing Project (SFOP). Collectively, we have 173 member institutions representing 219,000 families from diverse communities across the region.