Minneapolis, MN – More than 40 protesters gathered here March 14 at the foreclosed home of Rosemary Williams, to demand that Williams be allowed to stay in her home and an end to foreclosures.

Rosemary Williams, a 55-year resident of the Central neighborhood is one of the many faces of the foreclosure crisis in Minnesota. Williams is facing eviction from her foreclosed home at the end of March. She said, “I became unemployed and then I couldn't pay the mortgage, now my house has been foreclosed on. President Obama is promising jobs but until the job market gets rolling people should not be foreclosed upon and evicted, as long as we make reasonable monthly payments.”

The protest leaders announced a campaign to demand a ‘stay in place policy’ that allows people to avoid eviction after foreclosure. This policy has already been adopted by mortgage holder Fannie Mae.

Rosemary Williams and members of the Minnesota Coalition for a Peoples Bailout will be delivering a letter demanding that Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (MERS), a leading forecloser in the state of Minnesota, allow Rosemary and others facing foreclosure to stay in their homes.

Peter Brown of the Minnesota Tenants Union said, “In the shadows of the foreclosure crisis stand those who make the decisions most damaging to families and communities. For every foreclosure or eviction there is a real person, who decides not only to foreclose, but to evict the residents of foreclosed dwellings. Eviction following foreclosure does not just ‘happen’ – it is the conscious decision of the forecloser.”

Stefanie Yorek, a spokesperson for the Minnesota Coalition for a People's Bailout said, “Rosemary's situation is like that of thousands on Minnesotans. It's another example of why legislators must pass the Peoples Bail-Out Bill (SF 542, HF626) which will, among other things put a two year moratorium on foreclosures and protects tenants in foreclosed buildings from no-cause eviction.”

A follow-up demonstration will take place at MERS's attorneys' offices in Burnsville on Friday, March 20 if the letter's demands are not met by Thursday, March 19.

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