V4CF volunteers participate in Fresno 'Recovery Express Rally'

Four members from Volunteers For Change-Fresno joined dozens of other demonstrators at the Fresno "Recovery Express Rally" in front of St. John's Cathedral on Friday, March 6. The rally was planned by PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing) National Network and a local group, Faith in Community, to greet a bus en route to Washington D.C. carrying passengers who are facing foreclosure.

With similar rallies in cities across America, the Recovery Express is designed to publicize the housing crisis and to ask our leaders for help. Challenging weather conditions in the Rockies prevented the bus from coming to Fresno as scheduled so members of five Fresno families had to travel north to Antioch to join the caravan. However, the local demonstration raised awareness of the desperate situation faced by so many. TV cameras recorded heartfelt speeches by clergy, local officials, elected representatives, and affected homeowners.

The Fresno Bee (3/7) in reporting the event noted that 12,500 homes were foreclosed in the Valley in 2008, more than twice the number affected in 2007.