Dozens stood out in the rain Thursday morning to protest the foreclosure eviction of an elderly man and his son from their Sixteen Acres home in Springfield, Mass.
What the anti-eviction group Springfield No One Leaves initially billed as an eviction blockade turned into a full-throated protest when members of the Hampden County Sheriff's Department and city police ordered the group off the property at 2163 Wilbraham Road and across the street.
Sammie Smith, 68, who has lived in the home with his family for over 21 years, said he has been suffering from ill health and wished he had more time to work out a way to stay.
"I don't like it. It's not right," said Smith as he waited inside his kitchen for sheriff's deputies to enter his home and evict him. "They didn't give me enough time to try to get myself together or anything. But that is just the way it is."
Smith's son, Kevin Smith, had to work Thursday morning and was not present for the eviction, according to Springfield No One Leaves.
Sammie Smith fell behind on his mortgage payments when his wife, Cinda Smith, died, according to a press release issued by the organization.
Before her death, Smith's wife told him not to worry about the mortgage because she had purchased insurance that would pay off the house if anything happened to her or him. She did not realize, however, that when she refinanced the house in 2006, that insurance policy became void.
"Sammie, having limited education, did not understand the communications that (U.S. Bank Trust) and their debt collectors were sending him as he thought the insurance company had taken care of the home like his wife had told him would happen," the press release states.
Smith and his son, according to Springfield No One Leaves, were willing to pay rent in order to stay.
Such evictions, according to Springfield No One Leaves, are characterized as "no-fault evictions" because there is a viable alternative to eviction and families are willing to pay.
Legislation was again introduced at the Statehouse in January to outlaw these types of evictions and require lenders to rent to families after foreclosure. State Reps. Bud Williams, Jose Tosado and Angelo Puppolo and state Sen. Eric Lesser have all signaled support for the bill, according to Springfield No One Leaves.
Rose Webster-Smith, a lead organizer at Springfield No One Leaves and a resident of Sixteen Acres, said the sheriff's department allowed Smith to gather his valuables and medicine before a family member took him off the property.
Webster-Smith said the sheriff's department told her that Smith's belongings will be taken to a secure area that he will have access to.
Sheriff Nick Cocchi, in a press release, stated he has instructed his staff "to do all in all in their power to assist the Smith family during this difficult time. We have made several personal visits to the Smith house to discuss their options in an effort to assist them."
Cocchi stated he has ordered the department's housing specialist to find both temporary and permanent housing for Smith and his son.
"I know this is a very difficult time for Mr. Smith and my team is committed to assist him to secure new housing," Cocchi said.
The sheriff's department received an order from the Western Housing Court in Springfield to carry out the eviction, Cocchi said.
"I understand this has been a very long process over many months to get to this unfortunate point of eviction, however, I must carry out the court's order," he said.
Webster-Smith said Springfield No One Leaves will pressure U.S. Bank to sell the property back to Smith.
"This is really about making sure that the banks can't do this in silence," Webster-Smith said. "Too many people leave their homes when they are in the beginning stages of foreclosure. They don't understand that foreclosure and eviction are two separate entities in the state of Massachusetts."
Smith said he welcomed the support. "I love it," he said. "It shows you that somebody cares."
Protesters said earlier in the morning they were prepared to risk arrest. Members of the sheriff's department were evidently prepared to make arrests, given the number of zip-ties that they had at the ready to serve as restraints.
In the end, no one was arrested and the eviction proceeded without interference from the protesters.
Elizabeth Parra, a spokeswoman for U.S. Bank Trust said the bank serves as trustee on the security into which the mortgage on 2163 Wilbraham Road was bundled. She said the servicer is Caliber Home Loans.
"As trustee, we do not direct or get involved with any of the activity related to the individual properties in the trust," Parra stated in an email.
A spokesman for Caliber Home Loans could not be immediately reached for comment.
