Project No One Leaves
Encyclopedia
Project No One Leaves is a Boston
non-profit
tenants' rights organization which provides legal education to people living in foreclosed homes
to enable them to understand and protect their legal rights. The group was established in 2008 by members of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau
who specialized in housing law in response to a perceived spike in foreclosures and mass evictions
in low-income Boston neighborhoods.
students Nick Hartigan and David Haller.
In September of that same year Project No One Leaves was formally launched, with Hartigan and Haller being joined by Tony Borich, another Harvard student affiliated with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the oldest student-run legal aid
organization in the United States. The trio were concerned about an uptick in foreclosures and evictions meted out against low-income Bostonians due to the subprime mortgage crisis
and set out to inform the occupants of foreclosed homes of their legal rights under the state laws of Massachusetts
.
Project No One Leaves makes use of newly filed foreclosures in the area to create a database
of affected residences. Residents are then contacted in person by volunteers with the project, which include students at Harvard Law School
and eight other Boston-area law schools and colleges, as well as undergraduates and members of concerned community groups. In 2009, more than 1,000 people living in foreclosed properties were contacted by Project No One Leaves and informed of their legal rights, with a view to helping keep victims of foreclosure in their own homes.
Canvassers encourage residents to attend meetings of City Life/Vida Urbana
to meet others in similar straits and help interested individuals to make contact with Harvard Legal Aid's Foreclosure Task Force and other legal aid organizations. This grassroots
contact enables legal action
to be taken against those mortgage-holders who are in violation of the law. Law students have won a series of cash settlements by those banks which have failed to keep the properties they hold in satisfactory condition for habitation.
Working together, Project No One Leaves volunteers, City Life community organizers, and other groups work to pressure banks holding foreclosed properties to resell the assets to community lender Boston Community Capital (BCC), which mortgages or sometimes rents them to the original occupants at the current deflated market rate. BCC makes its money by charging a 25 percent premium on its purchase price. Residents are thus allowed to stay in their current dwelling on a more affordable fixed-rate mortgage, while banks are able to expeditiously turn over their foreclosed properties for somewhat more than they would typically expect.
In the 13 months between May 2010 and June 2011, BCC purchased a total of 55 properties containing a total of 125 residential units. Plans are in place for the future purchase and resale of hundreds of more homes, primarily in working class
areas of Boston.
In November of 2010, Project No One Leaves organized a national conference in which lawyers and community organizers from 15 states came to Boston to learn about the foreclosure resistance model espoused by the organization.
Project No One Leaves has also received recognition from national housing organizations, such as the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.
In April 2009 Project No One Leaves founders Dave Haller and Nick Hartigan received the Outstanding Student Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association in recognition of their excellence in clinical legal work.
Project No One Leaves and Boston Community Capital saw their national stature further elevated in April 2010 when chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke
cited their efforts as an example of how "local communities are meeting the challenges of tough times" in a public speech.
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
non-profit
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
tenants' rights organization which provides legal education to people living in foreclosed homes
Foreclosure
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a mortgage lender , or other lien holder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower 's equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law...
to enable them to understand and protect their legal rights. The group was established in 2008 by members of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau
Harvard Legal Aid Bureau
The Harvard Legal Aid Bureau is the oldest student-run legal services office in the country, founded in 1913. Located at 23 Everett Street in Cambridge, MA, the Bureau's mission is to provide an important community service while giving student attorneys the opportunity to develop professional...
who specialized in housing law in response to a perceived spike in foreclosures and mass evictions
Eviction
How you doing???? Eviction is the removal of a tenant from rental property by the landlord. Depending on the laws of the jurisdiction, eviction may also be known as unlawful detainer, summary possession, summary dispossess, forcible detainer, ejectment, and repossession, among other terms...
in low-income Boston neighborhoods.
Establishment
Project No One Leaves (PNOL) began in January 2008 with the establishment of a Foreclosure Task Force of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau by Harvard Law SchoolHarvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
students Nick Hartigan and David Haller.
In September of that same year Project No One Leaves was formally launched, with Hartigan and Haller being joined by Tony Borich, another Harvard student affiliated with the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau, the oldest student-run legal aid
Legal aid
Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people otherwise unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to counsel and the right to a fair trial.A number of...
organization in the United States. The trio were concerned about an uptick in foreclosures and evictions meted out against low-income Bostonians due to the subprime mortgage crisis
Subprime mortgage crisis
The U.S. subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late-2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages....
and set out to inform the occupants of foreclosed homes of their legal rights under the state laws of Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
.
Project No One Leaves makes use of newly filed foreclosures in the area to create a database
Database
A database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
of affected residences. Residents are then contacted in person by volunteers with the project, which include students at Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
and eight other Boston-area law schools and colleges, as well as undergraduates and members of concerned community groups. In 2009, more than 1,000 people living in foreclosed properties were contacted by Project No One Leaves and informed of their legal rights, with a view to helping keep victims of foreclosure in their own homes.
Canvassers encourage residents to attend meetings of City Life/Vida Urbana
City Life/Vida Urbana
City Life/Vida Urbana commonly known as "City Life," is a social justice group in Boston, Massachusetts. Since 2008 the City Life has focused on preventing evictions of both former owners and renters resulting from a rise in foreclosures....
to meet others in similar straits and help interested individuals to make contact with Harvard Legal Aid's Foreclosure Task Force and other legal aid organizations. This grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
contact enables legal action
Lawsuit
A lawsuit or "suit in law" is a civil action brought in a court of law in which a plaintiff, a party who claims to have incurred loss as a result of a defendant's actions, demands a legal or equitable remedy. The defendant is required to respond to the plaintiff's complaint...
to be taken against those mortgage-holders who are in violation of the law. Law students have won a series of cash settlements by those banks which have failed to keep the properties they hold in satisfactory condition for habitation.
Working together, Project No One Leaves volunteers, City Life community organizers, and other groups work to pressure banks holding foreclosed properties to resell the assets to community lender Boston Community Capital (BCC), which mortgages or sometimes rents them to the original occupants at the current deflated market rate. BCC makes its money by charging a 25 percent premium on its purchase price. Residents are thus allowed to stay in their current dwelling on a more affordable fixed-rate mortgage, while banks are able to expeditiously turn over their foreclosed properties for somewhat more than they would typically expect.
In the 13 months between May 2010 and June 2011, BCC purchased a total of 55 properties containing a total of 125 residential units. Plans are in place for the future purchase and resale of hundreds of more homes, primarily in working class
Working class
Working class is a term used in the social sciences and in ordinary conversation to describe those employed in lower tier jobs , often extending to those in unemployment or otherwise possessing below-average incomes...
areas of Boston.
Growth
Over its first three years of its existence, Project No One Leaves has grown, with additional chapters sprouting in Boston and elsewhere in the United States, including Miami.In November of 2010, Project No One Leaves organized a national conference in which lawyers and community organizers from 15 states came to Boston to learn about the foreclosure resistance model espoused by the organization.
National recognition
The joint activities of Project No One Leaves and City Life have attracted national attention via the PBS News Hour, the New York Times, National Public Radio, and the Huffington Post.Project No One Leaves has also received recognition from national housing organizations, such as the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty.
In April 2009 Project No One Leaves founders Dave Haller and Nick Hartigan received the Outstanding Student Award from the Clinical Legal Education Association in recognition of their excellence in clinical legal work.
Project No One Leaves and Boston Community Capital saw their national stature further elevated in April 2010 when chairman of the Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke
Ben Bernanke
Ben Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis....
cited their efforts as an example of how "local communities are meeting the challenges of tough times" in a public speech.
Further reading
- Nicholas Hartigan, "No One Leaves: Community Mobilization as a Response to the Foreclosure Crisis in Massachusetts," Harvard Civil Rights-Civil Liberties Law Review, vol. 45, pp. 181-204.
External links
- Project No One Leaves official website, www.projectnooneleaves.org/ Retrieved March 29, 2011.
- City Life/Vida Urbana official website, www.clvu.org/ Retrieved March 29, 2011.