A Just Harvest is presenting the John “Juancho” Donahue Award for Community Organizing to St. Peter’s UCC in Skokie at our 9th Annual Awards Banquet and Benefit on Sunday, October 14. We are so proud of their outstanding leadership in community organizing!
St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Skokie serves dinner in the community kitchen when there is a fifth Saturday in a month. The congregation has been a Kitchen partner for more than 20 years, and voted to join Northside P.O.W.E.R. in 2010. Beth Lanford and her husband Rev. Richard Lanford, the church’s pastor of 20 years, are at the heart of St. Peter’s involvement in Northside P.O.W.E.R. Beth currently serves as Northside P.O.W.E.R.’s chair.
At the time Beth got involved, Northside P.O.W.E.R. was focused on a campaign to increase the quality and availability of affordable housing in Rogers Park and trying to figure out a campaign that would win relief for homeowners underwater or in foreclosure.
Beth was especially drawn to the foreclosure issue because, at the same time, her disabled brother was facing foreclosure in Nebraska. Her brother and his partner were sold an adjustable rate mortgage. When the fixed rate period expired their payments ballooned by $600 per month, and they could no longer afford to pay the mortgage. Beth and Richard were already paying for her brother’s expensive, life-critical medication that Medicaid would not cover, and they began to help out with his mortgage as they were able.
Other members of St. Peter’s UCC are also angry about foreclosures, bank bailouts and a lack of help for average people suffering from the recession. Randy and Maria Altmayer live in Skokie and have seen the value of their home drop significantly since the housing bubble burst and have watched many people in their community go into foreclosure. They’re involved in Northside P.O.W.E.R. because, as Maria says, “Somebody else is making these rules, and they’re not fair.” Randy adds, “This economic crisis is disturbing and something needs to be done. I feel underrepresented in government. It seems like it is now about who has the most money to throw at politicians.”
As a response to the foreclosure crisis, a team of five St. Peter’s members began going to go door-to-door in Skokie to reach out to people facing foreclosure and connect them with reputable resources for help. Team members heard story after story that were similar to Beth’s brother’s tale of being sold a mortgage he could really not afford. They heard from people who had lost jobs, experienced long-term unemployment and failed at every legitimate attempt to get a loan modification from their banks.
Beth says that she quickly realized the big banks did not have the best interests of the average person at heart, but she also realized, through Cindy Bush’s guidance, that nothing her group of volunteers could do would change the banks’ behavior. She understood that this was still service, not community organizing.
The community organizing methodology brings together people affected by the economic & foreclosure crises to become powerful enough to hold elected official accountable to acting in their interests and to force the giant banks to change their behavior towards all homeowners, not just the few lucky enough to get help from reputable organizations.
Rev. Richard Lanford also preaches about economic justice and connects these sermons to opportunities for congregation members to get involved in Northside P.O.W.E.R. issues. St. Peter’s has consistently organized people to attend public meetings where we hold elected officials accountable to support our issues. St. Peter’s is also active in the “Give It Back, Chase” campaign, calling on Chase Bank to donate foreclosed, vacant properties to housing organizations in Rogers Park, Albany Park, Skokie and Evanston so that they can be rented at reasonable rates.
