'Occupy' Group Backs Evicted Couple Refusing To Leave Home

SOUTHGATE (WWJ) - It's a new twist on the "Occupy" movement.

A Southgate couple is facing eviction next month. But Rob and Debbie Henry say they've been given the runaround, and they say they're not going.

Shannon McEvilly of "Occupy Our Homes" said she and others from the organization will back the couple's vow not to leave:

"I am willing to, like we said, engage in non-violent civil disobedience in that I will be arrested," said McEvilly. "We will not leave this house January 2nd."

"Rob and Debbie will remain here. I will remain here. Many of their friends and family and many of their allies in 'Occupy Our Homes' will remain here as well," she said.

The Henrys, who fell behind in their house payments due to Debbie's illness in 2008, thought they were on their way back during a 10-month mortgage modification period set up by Bank of America.

But the Henrys say the bank then pulled the rug out from under them, canceling their modification and demanding $34,000 to reinstate their loan -- money they didn't have.

In May, a sheriff's sale was held, but that isn't enough to make them go, said Debbie Henry.

"We plan to stay right here with the Occupy movement .... we're hoping it don't get to that point," Henry said. "We're hoping that Fannie Mae will look at this and say, 'We're sorry, we didn't realize that you have even had chance to modify, and we will work with you'."

Both the Henrys and members of the "Occupy Our Homes" group are angry that, while American banks have gotten billions in bailouts, taxpaying families aren't getting the help they need to remain in their homes.