Not alone: Legal support to stop foreclosures

Imagine facing the threat of losing your home because you can't afford your mortgage anymore. Maybe you are undergoing a chronic illness, you lost your job, or your financial situation was affected by an accident, divorce, or disaster. We know nobody chooses to stop paying for their house: noncompliance with the loan happens after several other decisions and sacrifices - some regarding food or medicines- are made. Now consider that the threat of homelessness takes the form of many letters from the bank that fill your mailbox. You only manage to open a few, scared of the confirmation of what you know will happen if you can't afford your house anymore. Imagine that you can't understand those you open, and it's not only because you feel anxious, ashamed, and confused. It's because they are written in a language you don't understand. The cycle of vulnerability amidst this process never seems to end.

At Ayuda Legal Puerto Rico, we have been working increasingly with these cases. Because of our economic landscape, the role of mortgage and financial institutions from the US - and elsewhere- has become more prominent. Consequently, many letters and documentation related to mortgages are issued in English. Financial institutions must make these documents available in Spanish, considering that most people in Puerto Rico have no English proficiency. Failure to do so aggravates the vulnerability of homeowners at risk, and it also poses challenges to civil rights. At this moment, a lot of the work ALPR is doing regarding the urgency to stop foreclosure has to do with fair housing complaints because of language access. Although this form of national origin discrimination has been prohibited by law for a long time, a lack of knowledge about the available protections has created a sense of impunity. Denouncing and acting to stop this manifestation of the overall power disbalance is our job.

Your support is instrumental in accompanying those who feel at their worst when they cannot afford their mortgages and whose vulnerabilities are highlighted by processes and conducts far from justice. Donate now.