Gayla Newsome's daughters are back in their West Oakland home, just in time for Christmas.
"It's an honor to be able to stand up and be like, 'We're taking our house back, we're moving in the house regardless, you're just going to have to do something about it,'" said Maiya Edgerly, Newsom's daughter.
The family was evicted in July, but in December re-occupied the property as part of a protest organized by the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment or ACCE, which blames predatory lending practices for thousands of foreclosures throughout California.
"When the banks took billions of dollars from us to bail them out, several years ago, they did it on the promise they would use some of that money to help the homeowners who were in distress. They're not doing that," said Beth Kean from ACCE.
Kean was one of the volunteers staying inside Newsome's house earlier this month when law enforcement tried unsuccessfully to force them out. Now she's helping the family replace household items stolen after they were evicted. And Kean and others are bombarding J.P. Morgan Chase with letters.
On Thursday, supporters in New York City protested outside the bank, specifically on the family's behalf. Chase held Newsome's first mortgage, but a second lender, Residential Capitol Mortgage Income Fund, is the one that foreclosed. Still, protesters hold Chase responsible, claiming the bank would not help modify her loan.
"Chase is the primary problem, no matter what Chase says," said Kean.
There was no comment on Thursday from the two lenders. The family still hopes to work something out and with help from supporters vowing to fight for the property they have owned for 15 years.
