Subject: Can you believe this is happening in America?

Date: Friday, October 17, 2008, 5:45 AM

October 17, 2008

Dear Joy,

War in Iraq took her son, Wall St. greed is about to take her home.

Jocelyne Voltaire hasn't stopped crying since she received notice that her son was killed in Iraq. "I can't eat, I can't sleep. He was my firstborn; the light of my life. Every day I cry and cry and scream. I can't help it."

Today, Jocelyne will be hit by another tragedy: losing her home. Jocelyne immigrated from Haiti 21 years ago, worked two jobs while bringing up her children. In 1987 she achieved the American dream: she put $55,000 down and bought a white, two-story house in Queens Village, New York. Now, caught in caught in the largest financial scam in history, she is one of thousands of Americans whose homes will be sold on the auction block.

Last night while Obama and McCain were playing tug of war over Joe the Plumber, just a stone's throw from the debate at Hofstra University, Long Island locals are losing their homes, their jobs and their children to America's failed policies. Watch this short video below of Jocelyne telling her story- read more below.

  "I still have two children, ages 6 and 10, who need a roof over their heads. I worked all my life, my son died for this country, and now the bank wants to take my home away? That's just wrong," says Jocelyne. "Washington needs to help us, the homeowners, not the banks and Wall Street."

Jocelyne's house goes on the auction block today and CODEPINK will be there with her outside the Queens Courthouse where her fate will be decided.

Please donate now to CODEPINK's emergency fund to make sure that Jocelyne stays in her home. If we raise $20,000 right away, we can avert another tragedy and provide a model of what Congress should be doing-bailing out the people and not Wall Street!

Thank you for your generosity,Audrey, Dana, Deidra, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jean, Jodie, Liz, Lori, Medea, Nancy, and Rae

(UPDATE from CODE PINK)

From: CODEPINK <codepink@mail.democracyinaction.org>

Subject: A miracle happened! We stopped the auction!

Date: Saturday, October 18, 2008, 9:58 AM

October 18, 2008

Friday was an historic day. At 11am, Jocelyne Voltaire was scheduled to lose her home in Queens Village, the home she had lived in for the past 20 years, the home where she raised her four children. Unable to keep up her skyrocketing mortgage payments, Jocelyne watched in horror as her home was put on the auction block. This amazing video clip by American News Project brought Jocelyn's plight to our attention

At 9:05 am EST, we sent out an urgent call to our CODEPINK list. Our jaws dropped when we saw the response. Donations of $5, $25, $500, even $1,000! Within an hour, we had raised over $10,000. And the money kept pouring in, along with beautiful messages of support.

Jocelyne was moved to tears. And the mortgage bankers, with our immediate promise of $15,000 at 11am, were "moved" to stop the auction.

We did it!!! While our government has taken billions of our tax dollars to bail out the wealthy, we came together to bail out a desperate mother. Thanks to you, in one day we raised over $30,000 from 650 donors and showered Jocelyne with love and compassion. We modeled exactly what we want our government to do-bail out families facing personal disaster, not financiers.

Jocelyne still faces enormous hurdles, both financial and emotional. She has to pull herself out of a deep depression from the loss of her eldest son, a Marine who had served in the Gulf. She has to recover her health so she can start working again. She has to fix up her home so she can get renters to augment her income. And she still has to renegotiate her loan and make monthly mortgage payments.

But thanks to you, Jocelyne now has another chance. We found a wonderful pro-bono lawyer to help her battle the predatory lenders and restructure her loan. And after wiring the mortgage company $15,000, we will use the funds that keep coming in to help Jocelyne make her monthly payments and get back on her feet.

As we write, Jocelyne is feeling exhausted but renewed. She is ready to unpack the boxes she has been living out of for the past year. She now feels surrounded by people who want to lift her up, not toss her out. And she wants to use her experience to help others. At the press conference we held at the courthouse steps, surrounded by dozens of cameras, Jocelyne said: "To all of you facing similar disasters, don't be silent, don't be ashamed. Step forward and call out for help. That's what I did, and a miracle happened. These angels came to help me. We all have to pull together and help each other."

You are those angels and we at CODEPINK are in awe of you-your generosity, your compassion, your willingness to stand up for Main Street Americans. Now let's pull together in the coming months, as Jocelyne asked us to do, and move our government to do the same-bail out Main Street, not Wall Street.

Thanks for making miracles happen. Here's to Jocelyne, to you and to solidarity.

Dana, Deidra, Desiree, Farida, Gael, Gayle, Jean, Jodie, Liz, Lori, Medea, Nancy, and Rae

P.S. Jocelyne still needs all the help she can get. If you have not yet donated and are moved to do so, click here.

Watch the video of Jocelyne's story and help raise funds that will help restore her life:

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