By: Ashmar Mandou

Members of Centro Autónomo, Communities United Against Foreclosure and Evictions, and SOMOS Logan Square staged a rally outside Citibank, 11 S. LaSalle St., on Tuesday afternoon to demonstrate the crisis many families are facing and to kick-off a social media campaign, called “We are the faces of Eviction,” which was launched on the same day by the Fannie/Freddie 99 National Housing Coalition. Families held signs, reading “I am the face of eviction,” and demanded to meet with major banks in an effort to show them the struggle hundreds of families experience on a daily basis and negotiate a deal that will enable them to avoid displacement.

Protestor Vicky Morales stated, “Evictions are not justice,” while another said, “I am the face of eviction. We’re still here and we aren’t leaving,” Suzette Ancheta, a 65 year-old woman facing eviction from Freddie Mac. “Many people believe that the housing crisis is over, that the housing market is stabilized,” said a member of Centro Autónomo. “But this could not be farther from the truth for many of our community members who are still facing eviction due to foreclosure or tenants facing illegal eviction after their buildings got foreclosed. We will not allow for members of our community to be seen as “just another case;” we are committed and unyielding in the struggle to demand that banks engage with the faces of eviction.”

Photo Credit: Centro Autónomo