Wall Street wrecked the economy and banks still are refusing to work with people who are trying to stay in their homes. The Campaign for a Fair Settlement, along with other partners, is calling on President Obama over the next 100 days to champion an agenda that would:

1. Hold bankers accountable for their crimes.

2. Keep people in their homes by resetting their mortgages.

Sign the petition here. 

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Diane McCloud shared her story about her home underwater. Read more from 100 Stories of What Wall Street Broke:

It has been very painful to see my once piece of the American dream rot away. In the spring of 1993, I lost my husband, who passed away from incurable lung cancer. As a widow still raising two of four children in a home that my husband and I worked so hard to have, it become more difficult for me to keep up and maintain the home. In the winter of 2006, the city of Springfield condemned my home because there were safety issues and other code violations. The city only gave me and my daughter hours to pack up our clothes and leave my home. This is a home that I still today continue to pay the mortgage, taxes and insurance on. A home that I pay for but can’t live in. 

Unfortunately, like most homeowners in America, I was given a predatory loan and in the last 30 years since I owned the home, my mortgage carrier has changed hands more than six times. None of the mortgage carriers are willing to work with me by giving me principal reduction or a loan modification, instead they only care about receiving their mortgage payments month to month. I have sought help from many local organizations…and none of them were able to give me the amount of financial assistance I need to rehab my home. 

My family has been pleading with me to give up and walk away. I don’t want to walk away from the only dream and memory of love and investment my late husband and I worked so hard for to provide to our family. My husband has been dead for 19 years and I am a couple of years away from retirement, I have worked hard all of my life leading up until my husband got sick. In recent years, my youngest son almost died from cancer but God had other plans for his life. I want to live out the rest of my years at peace and living in a home that I own and never gave up on.

Please help me and my family keep our home. Not only is this home where our hearts live, but it also has sentimental value that restores the memories and a dream that came true for us.

God Bless you all.

http://www.gofundme.com/Homeowner-underwater