Tough economic ties have thrown millions of Americans out of their homes and onto the streets.
One 82-year-old feisty grandmother – Mary Ward – is putting up a fight against the system in the face of going homeless, and could be well on her way to winning the fight of her life.
Cruel times in America. In a plummeting economy, the seizing of homes is sky rocketing, leaving many Americans with nowhere to go. There are over one and a half million homes in foreclosure across the US right now. This is a plague that has taken over the country.
One story, however, is proving to be more shocking that others.
82-year-old great grandmother Mary Ward has lived half her life in this house, but could now end up homeless.
“Don’t force me! Nobody can force me to do anything! I’m not a slave,” said Ward to RT.
The senior took out a $10,000 loan against her house back in the 90s. She never got that money, and the lending bank was shut down for predatory schemes. Even so, she has been facing foreclosure because of that money ever since.
“I’m going to walk barefoot, if I have to, to Washington DC! They’ve got to listen to me; I’ve got all the evidence. Washington DC is going to do all this good stuff for these banks, and look at what these banks are doing to the people!”
Mary Ward’s battle with the system has already lasted 16 years.
“The courts have failed Mary Lee Ward for the last 16 years. Elected officials have failed her for the last 16 years,” said Organizing for Occupation member and attorney Jay Kim.
On Friday, some 200 supporters gathered on Mary’s door step to physically block her eviction.
“It sounds like a matter of common sense if not actual law that if the lender who gave her the money was put out of business because of engaging in predatory practices – and, she never got the money – it seems absurd that the house is now being foreclosed upon because of $10,000 which she never got, which was considered illegal,” said The Village Voice’s Steven Thrasher.
Mary Ward is far from the only one to fall into a bank’s trap during tough times.
“It really is sad. There are thousands of people that have already left their homes, they have lost their homes because of predatory lending schemes,” said Mary Ward’s adopted granddaughter, Shandra Campbell.
Despite only eight years of education, Mary is the only one to put up a fight for this long.
“Politicians? It falls on deaf ears. Politicians and the real estate moguls, they are all dancing and having affairs together and what not. It’s an incestuous relationship that should be broken up,” said community activist Ali Lamont Jr.
As politicians and corporations continue sleeping in the same bed, the 82 year old is wide awake and says she is unstoppable. “They cannot acknowledge the fact that a little old black woman outsmarted them!”
Banks are in for a rude awakening as the feisty lady isn’t going anywhere just yet. In the meantime, she is well on her way to becoming a hero for millions of others left to fend for themselves.