2011-12-22 "Occupy Atlanta Helps Save Veteran’s Home" by Steve Williams
[http://www.care2.com/causes/occupy-atlanta-helps-save-veterans-home.html]
Occupy Atlanta has helped an Iraq war veteran and her girlfriend save their home from foreclosure.
Brigitte Walker, a decorated Iraq War veteran, had unsuccuessfully tried to modify her loan with Chase Bank since she officially retired from the army as a result of combat related injuries in 2007. In late November of this year she received yet another foreclosure notice and things looked bleak.
Walker’s home was set to be sold at auction on the Fulton County Courthouse steps on January 3 and, desperate, Brigitte and her girlfriend Ajai contacted Georgia state senator Vincent Fort asking for help. Fort put Walker in touch with Occupy Atlanta.
The rest of the story from the Occupy Atlanta website [http://occupyatlanta.org/2011/12/19/occupy-atlanta-win-for-disabled-veteran/#.TvMco16A90J]:
[begin excerpt]
On December 6, after leaving the very same auction where Brigitte’s home was slated to be sold the following month, we started occupying her home.
After two press conferences on her lawn, a national call in day, and direct action on Chase Bank, Occupy Atlanta did what Brigitte Walker couldn’t do in years: get a loan modification. If it weren’t for Occupy Atlanta’s “simplistic approach” Brigitte Walker would have had her American Dream auctioned off on the Fulton county court house steps. Instead Brigitte Walker and her family can breathe easy knowing they can continue to live in their home.
[end excerpt]
Walker, 44, joined the Army in 1985 and entered Iraq in February 2003. Her tour ended in May 2004 due to mortar round-related damage to her spine [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/19/occupy-atlanta-saves-iraq-veterans-home-from-foreclosure_n_1158097.html?]. Today, as well as struggling with post-traumatic stress disorder, she still has a limited range of motion.
Below you can watch a video interview with Walker in which she tells her story: