ACORN Annual Report 2005

A s s o c i a t i o n o f C o m m u n i t y O r g a n i z a t i o n s f o r R e f o r m N o w
R
ACORN
2005 Annual Report
Organizing
Communities,
Changing Lives
ACORN 2005 Annual Report
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ing the permission of ACORN.
ACORN 2005 Annual Report Page 1
Table of Contents
Message from ACORNs National President .......... 2
About ACORN.......................................................... 3
Building ACORN One Member at a Time ................ 4
ACORN Grows ........................................................ 6
Organizing in Katrinas Wake................................... 7
Financial Justice..................................................... 14
Living Wage and Minimum Wage Campaigns ....... 17
Affordable Housing ................................................ 20
Education .............................................................. 26
Healthcare Access.................................................. 29
Environmental Justice ........................................... 30
Fair Utilities ............................................................ 32
Voter Participation ................................................. 34
Taking on Wal-Mart ............................................... 35
Organizing Home Childcare Workers .................... 36
National Policy: Fighting the Bush Agenda ........... 38
Neighborhood Victories ......................................... 39
Research and Reports ........................................... 42
ACORN Housing Corporation ............................... 44
Looking to 2006...................................................... 46
ACORN 2005 Annual Report
Organizing Communities,
Changing Lives
Organizing Communities,
Changing Lives
In 2005, ACORN grew in size and strength, winning important victories
for low-income communities around the country.
ACORN also faced one of the greatest challenges in our organizations
history in responding to the devastation of our communities and our
own national and local organizing operations in New Orleans follow-
ing Hurricane Katrina. As we watched the news coverage and recon-
nected with our displaced membership in the days after the hurricane,
it was painfully clear that low-income, African American families were
bearing the brunt of the suffering. It was a tragic demonstration of the
real impact of persistent poverty and racial inequities in not only New
Orleans, but across our nation.
I am proud of the way ACORN members and organizers immediately
came together and responded to this crisis by doing what we do best:
ORGANIZE. We reached out to low-income Katrina survivors, helping
them get the assistance they needed, and built the ACORN Katrina
Survivors Association to fight for a voice for low-income families in
the relief and rebuilding efforts. And together, weve already won real
improvements for low-income survivors.
At the same time, every single day of 2005 ACORN has been organiz-
ing in our communities which now include chapters in over 100 U.S.
cities and in Canada, Peru and Mexico! We have won major victories
in financial justice, minimum wages, affordable housing, education,
healthcare, environmental justice, and civic participation, as well as
hundreds of local neighborhood wins. Weve compiled here some of
the highlights of ACORNs work in 2005.

Finally, let me share a personal thanks to everyone who has reached
out to offer their support in 2005 your contributions, kind words, and
assistance have helped ACORN and its members rise to the unprec-
edented challenges we faced this year.
Maude Hurd
ACORN National President
Page 2 ACORN 2005 Annual Report
Message from the President
I am proud of the way
ACORN members and
organizers immediately
came together and
responded to this crisis
by doing what we do
best: ORGANIZE!
O r g a n i z i n g C o m m u n i t i e s . . .
ACORN National President Maude Hurd
ACORN 2005 Annual Report Page 3 . . . C h a n g i n g L i v e s
About ACORN
to take part in the annual Day of Action in March. Left: Members from
Louisiana ACORN protest bulldozing in New Orleans. Above: ACORN
members from Columbus (OH) at a minimum wage rally.
ACORN the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is the nations
largest community organization of low and moderate income families, with more than
225,000 families organized into neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities around the
country. Since 1970, ACORN has been taking action and winning victories on issues of
concern to our members. Our priorities include better housing for first time homebuyers and
tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks
and governments, and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building commu-
nity organizations that have the power to win changes through direct action, negotiation,
legislation and voter participation.
ACORN the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now is the nations
largest community organization of low and moderate income families, with more than
225,000 families organized into neighborhood chapters in over 100 cities around the
country. Since 1970, ACORN has been taking action and winning victories on issues of
concern to our members. Our priorities include better housing for first time homebuyers and
tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks
and governments, and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building commu-
nity organizations that have the power to win changes through direct action, negotiation,
legislation and voter participation.
Building ACORN One Member at a Time
F
or 35 years, the neighborhood organizing drive has
been the heart and soul of ACORNs work. In 2005,
ACORN conducted over 480 organizing drives in com-
munities around the country. Each drive follows a similar
model. An ACORN organizer, working with an organiz-
ing committee of neighborhood residents, systematically
doorknocks a defined neighborhood, engaging in one-on-
one conversations with hundreds of neighborhood resi-
dents. Organizers ask community members what issues
they are concerned about; what makes them angry;
and what their hopes and dreams are for their family,
for their community, for their city, and for their country.
Organizers talk with residents about organizing to build
power, and ask them to join the new local ACORN chap-
ter that is being built in their neighborhood.
Why do community residents join ACORN? Almost with-
out fail, ACORN members say that it is because no
one ever came to my door and asked for MY opinion
before. This uniquely powerful insight is at the core of
Why do community residents
join ACORN? Almost without
fail, ACORN members say
that it is because no one ever
came to my door and asked
for MY opinion before.
Top: An ACORN organizer in Baltimore talks to a prospective
ACORN member. Above: Members from Harrisburg ACORN
attend a community meeting.
Why do community residents
join ACORN? Almost without
fail, ACORN members say
that it is because no one ever
came to my door and asked
for MY opinion before.
ACORN member Joe Sherman (right) gathers signatures for an
ACORN minimum wage campaign.
the ACORN organizing model: ACORN gives low and
moderate income families an opportunity to take action
on issues and concerns that are defined by the commu-
nity itself.
Each organizing drive culminates in a neighborhood-wide
meeting, where members elect their own officers, take
stock of their emerging power, and choose a set of issues
to work on. Within days the new ACORN chapter moves
into action, and members get their first taste of collec-
tive action. This is really a process of civic education:
ACORN members learn how to work together to advance
their agenda, and they learn how to operate in the public
sphere. Just as important, ACORN members, most of
whom were never active in their community, begin to see
themselves as political actors with the power to get things
done. New leaders emerge as members develop their
skills and discover their strengths.
These new neighborhood chapters tackle a range of com-
munity issues: they demand and win better police protec-
tion, traffic signs and enforcement, vacant lot clean-ups,
and more. But in addition, as chapters continue meeting
monthly, they develop a broader agenda that speaks to
the more fundamental concerns of the members: better
schools, more affordable housing, higher wages, and an
end to predatory financial practices. These are issues
that are shared by local ACORN neighborhood chapters
from city to city, from state to state, across the nation.
As the following pages document, ACORN has developed
successful citywide, statewide, and nationwide strategies
that have won huge victories on many of these issues.
But the fundamental principle remains the same, whether
the campaign is fighting for a stop sign at a dangerous
intersection or confronting a multinational financial institu-
tion: ACORN members those who are directly affected
by the issue at stake are the ones who take action on
their own behalf to win the victories that make a differ-
ence in their lives.
This uniquely powerful insight is at
the core of the ACORN organizing
model: ACORN gives low and
moderate income families an
opportunity to take action on issues
and concerns that are defined by
the community itself.
At the close of 2005, ACORN is now organizing in over 110 cities and 37 states across the U.S.
and the District of Columbia, as well as Tijuana, Mexico, Lima, Peru, and Toronto and Vancouver,
Canada!
ACORN Grows
San Mateo County, CA
Santa Ana, CA
Colorado Springs, CO
Denver, CO
Bridgeport, CT
Hartford, CT
Washington, DC
Wilmington, DE
Belle Glade, FL
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
Hallandale Beach, FL
Hialeah, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Miami, FL
North Dade, FL
North Miami Beach, FL
Orlando, FL
Palm Beach Co., FL
Pompano Beach, FL
Riviera Beach, FL
St. Petersburg, FL
Tallahassee, FL
Tampa, FL
Atlanta, GA
Honolulu, HI
Des Moines, IA
Chicago, IL
Springfield, IL
Indianapolis, IN
Kansas City, KS
Topeka, KS
Wichita, KS
Louisville, KY
Baton Rouge, LA
Lake Charles, LA
New Orleans, LA
Boston, MA
Springfield, MA
Baltimore, MD
Baltimore Co., MD
Prince Georges Co, MD
Detroit, MI
Flint, MI
Lansing, MI
St. Paul, MN
Minneapolis, MN
Kansas City, MO
St. Louis, MO
Jackson, MS
Birmingham, AL
Little Rock, AR
Pine Bluff, AR
Glendale, AZ
Mesa, AZ
Phoenix, AZ
Tucson, AZ
Bakersfield, CA
Chula Vista, CA
Concord, CA
Contra Costa Co., CA
Daly City, CA
Fresno, CA
Garden Grove, CA
Long Beach, CA
Los Angeles, CA
Oakland, CA
Richmond, CA
Sacramento, CA
San Bernardino, CA
San Diego, CA
San Francisco, CA
San Jose, CA
Charlotte, NC
Raleigh, NC
Carteret, NJ
Elizabeth, NJ
Jersey City, NJ
Newark, NJ
Passaic, NJ
Paterson, NJ
Perth Amboy, NJ
Trenton, NJ
Union City, NJ
West New York, NJ
Albuquerque, NM
Las Cruces, NM
Las Vegas, NV
Buffalo, NY
Hempstead, NY
New York City, NY
Akron, OH
Cincinnati, OH
Cleveland, OH
Columbus, OH
Dayton, OH
Toledo, OH
Oklahoma City, OK
Portland, OR
Allentown, PA
Erie, PA
Harrisburg, PA
Philadelphia, PA
Pittsburgh, PA
Providence, RI
Memphis, TN
Nashville, TN
Arlington, TX
Austin, TX
Brownsville, TX
Dallas, TX
El Paso, TX
Ft. Worth, TX
Houston, TX
Irving, TX
Pasadena, TX
San Antonio, TX
Waco, TX
Norfolk, VA
Seattle, WA
Madison, WI
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New cities
are in bold
Organizing in Katrinas Wake
I
n the months since Hurricane Katrina struck New
Orleans and the Gulf Coast, ACORN has played a
vital role in ensuring that the needs of low and moder-
ate income survivors are being met. In October, ACORN
announced the formation of the ACORN Katrina
Survivors Association the first national organization
of low-income survivors of Hurricane Katrina. With thou-
sands of members in cities like Baton Rouge, Houston,
Dallas, Little Rock, New York, and Los Angeles and
a plan to engage thousands more the mission of the
Katrina Survivors Association is to demand a voice for
low-income people in the relief and rebuilding process.
Members of the Katrina Survivors Association have been
taking their message to local officials, relief agencies, and
to their elected representatives in Washington DC.
On November 7-8, the Katrina Survivors Association
sponsored its first major event the ACORN Community
Forum on Rebuilding New Orleans in Baton Rouge,
Louisiana which brought together over 130 Katrina sur-
vivors and experts in the fields of urban planning, archi-
tecture, and affordable housing. The conference, which
was also Webcast, provided a unique opportunity for
Katrina survivors and policy experts to develop a sustain-
able redevelopment plan for New Orleans that allows for
affordable housing, environmental protection, and eco-
nomic improvement.
The conference provided a unique
opportunity for Katrina survivors
and policy experts to develop a
sustainable redevelopment plan for
New Orleans that allows for affordable
housing, environmental protection,
and economic development.
The ACORN Community Forum on Rebuilding New Orleans
brought together rebuilding experts and ACORN members.
Top: ACORN members from New Orleans take to the streets
to save the Lower Ninth

Ward. Above: ACORN members in
Houston distribute clothing to Katrina survivors.
Top: New Orleans ACORN leader Tanya Harris (to right of podi-
um) meets with Congressional representatives in Washington
DC. Above: Houston ACORN members hold a protest outside
the local FEMA office.
ACORN and the Survivors Association have already won
real improvements for low-income Katrina survivors:
The Survivors Association successfully organized
community pressure on FEMA to reverse plans to
evict thousands of survivors from motels and hotels
on December 1.
The Survivors Association pressed mortgage lend-
ers to treat New Orleans homeowners fairly, and has
been meeting with representatives from major lending
institutions to urge them not to foreclose on displaced
homeowners. ACORN already won an agreement
with one subprime lender, Ocwen Loan Servicing, to
immediately stop the practice of charging prepayment
penalties to homeowners and to refund penalties
already collected.
ACORN also participated in the filing of a lawsuit that
won a temporary restraining order against the city of
New Orleans, preventing the demolition of homes in
the Ninth Ward.
In December, ACORN launched the Home Clean-Out
Demonstration Program with the goal of preserv-
ing thousands of homes in low-income New Orleans
neighborhoods.
ACORN also participated in
the filing of a lawsuit that won
a temporary restraining order
against the city of New Orleans,
preventing the demolition of
homes in the Ninth Ward.
W
HEN NEWS OF HURRICANE KATRINA REACHED
Sandra Milton at her home in Houston, she decided
the Federal Government wasnt doing enough to evacu-
ate the members of her family who were stranded in New
Orleans. Sandra and her husband drove into New Orleans
and picked up two aunts and six other family members as
well as three strangers in need of help. The Miltons then
Sandra Milton
Houston, TX

Sandra Milton
convinced a group
of 50 ACORN
members to chant
the traditional
gospel refrain We
waded in the water
outside FEMA
offces in DC. The
phrase became a
reminder that FEMA
had left thousands
of Hurricane Katrina
survivors stranded
in the New Orleans
foodwaters.
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drove the eleven survivors back
to Houston and housed them in
their four-bedroom home.
While helping her initial
group of survivor guests, Sandra
continued to offer housing to
those who had evacuated New
Orleans and soon hosted a total
of twenty Katrina survivors living
in her home. She had heard of
ACORNs work through the years,
but she was truly impressed with
ACORN after Hurricane Katrina
since it was one of the few orga-
nizations that directly assisted
host families. At the local gro-
cery store, ACORN had grocery
carts full of $25 worth of food
for host families. That was a big
help to me. Sandras large group
of guests included three senior
citizens aged 65, 76, and 89. I
needed help accessing their
social security benefits so I could
get them their medications, says
Sandra. Meant as a one-family
home, her house had its four
bedrooms and double garage
filled to capacity with survivors.
We had people living in the liv-
ing room and the dining room.
Every corner of the house had a
bed in it.
Already aiding survivors
individually, Sandra decided to
become a member of ACORN
and help improve conditions
for all Hurricane Katrina survi-
vors. She helped organize an
ACORN town hall meeting at
which Houstons Mayor Bill White
agreed to improve assistance to
survivors.
In October, Sandra accom-
panied seven Katrina survivors
to Washington DC, where she
participated in the press con-
ference with the Senate com-
mittee including Harry Reid.
The national TV news stations
were there and some of Sandras
friends in Houston saw her on TV.
I couldnt believe these power-
ful officials sat and really listened
to us, says Sandra. She and the
survivors spoke out in support of
reinstatement of the Davis-Bacon
Act, and when it was reinstated a
few days after the press confer-
ence, Sandra felt that ACORNs
techniques were really working.
Over the next few months,
the number of people staying
in Sandras home dwindled to
eight, then to one. Sandras eight-
year-old daughter was able to
move back into her bedroom.
Sandra says she will continue
to work with ACORN because
the organization is in touch with
needs of the communities it
serves. ACORN concentrates
on the right problems. You can
really depend on ACORN to be
your backbone and to get things
straight in your community.
L
IKE MANY HURRICANE SURVIVORS WHO DIDNT OWN
cars, Trina and her two daughters and two two-year-old
granddaughters lived in a dark hallway at the Superdome
for six days after Hurricane Katrina struck. For the first three
days, they lived without light, food, or water. When food was
finally delivered on the fourth day, Trinas family spent days
waiting in long lines for food and water rations.
On the sixth day, the first
buses finally pulled up and the
large crowd of survivors waited
in the hot sun for fifteen hours,
hoping to board one. It was so
hot that people were passing
out, Trina recalls. During the
wait, Trina saw a family carrying
an unconscious twenty-year-old
girl on a piece of cardboard used
as a stretcher. Later we found
out this girl died when the MPs
announced it on a loud speaker,
Trina explains. Trinas daughters
and granddaughters boarded a
bus that day to Houston.
The next day Trina was
bused to the Dallas Convention
Center where she was reunited
with her family after seven days,
and lived for twenty days. She
also began meeting with ACORN
organizers, and throughout
September spoke at a series
of ACORN-organized town hall
meetings. After her speeches
convinced local Dallas officials
to respond to the needs of sur-
vivors in the city, Trina joined
the ACORN Katrina Survivors
Association so she could urge
federal officials to offer more
assistance.
On October 26, 2005 Trina
Daniels and seven other mem-
bers of the Survivors Association
traveled to Washington DC to
speak with members of the U.S.
Senate and Congress. During a
press conference to support the
Rebuild with Respect Act, Trina
became a public speaker in a
lineup that included Senators
Ted Kennedy, Byron L. Dorgan,
and Tom Harkin. Several national
television news stations covered
the conference and Trina found
herself speaking to a crowd of
150 people while the cameras
rolled. Trina was nervous but she
wanted to tell her survivor story
to U.S. Senators and members
of Congress. These folks didnt
realize what went on and they
needed to hear about it, she
says.
Trina attended ACORNs
Community Forum on Rebuilding
New Orleans in Baton Rouge.
When ACORNs work to extend
the FEMA vouchers was success-
ful, Trina continued to use her
voucher to pay rent on her Dallas
apartment. In New Orleans,
ACORN is pushing for temporary
housing where Trina could live
if she wanted to return to her
former chef job at a New Orleans
restaurant that is scheduled to
reopen soon. In the meantime,
she will continue to work with
ACORN for the rights of Katrina
survivors. ACORN is like a big
family. Everybody has the same
ideals and its all about helping
people. Im sure if ACORN was
in charge of the Katrina evacua-
tion, they wouldve come up with
something better.
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Trina Daniels
New Orleans, LA

ACORN is like
a big family.
Everybody has the
same ideals and its
all about helping
people. Im sure
if ACORN was
in charge of the
Katrina evacuation,
they wouldve come
up with something
better.
One House at a Time
ACORN Home Clean-Out
Demonstration Program
B
efore Hurricane Katrina, the Lower Ninth Ward,
Gentilly, and New Orleans East were all vibrant New
Orleans neighborhoods where many of the citys 9,000
ACORN members lived. After the hurricane, these commu-
nities which were about 80% African American, with 20%
of residents living below the poverty level and 10% unem-
ployed before Katrina were put last on the list for redevel-
opment by some city planners. ACORN members feared,
and with good reason, that this meant their neighborhoods
would never be rebuilt because of powerful downtown
business interests goals to change the demographics and
Saving Low Income
New Orleans Neighborhoods
Saving Low Income
New Orleans Neighborhoods
ACORN leader Vanessa Gueringer (in green
sweatshirt) stands with ACORN cleanout
volunteers in front of her Lower Ninth Ward
home. She has worked hard to ensure there is a
voice for the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward
during the rebuilding after Katrina.
ACORN leader Vanessa Gueringer (in green
sweatshirt) stands with ACORN cleanout
volunteers in front of her Lower Ninth Ward
home. She has worked hard to ensure there is a
voice for the residents of the Lower Ninth Ward
during the rebuilding after Katrina.
size of the city. In response, in December ACORN launched
the Home Clean-Out Demonstration Program to preserve
thousands of homes in low-income neighborhoods and
send a powerful message to policymakers that low-income
New Orleans residents have a right of return and deserve
a voice in the rebuilding process.
The director of the ACORN Home Clean-Out
Demonstration Program is Scott Hagy, an industrial electri-
cian who arrived from Wisconsin in early October with a
U-Haul and a work truck ready to help the rebuilding effort.
I had lived in New Orleans before and felt connected to the
area, so I came down to see what I could do, says Scott.
I was just hoping to go into the neighborhoods and make
some kind of positive impact.
By early January 2006, ACORN work crews had
cleaned out over 575 homes, and ACORN had raised and
spent over $1 million in restoring low-income New Orleans
neighborhoods. We did this by hiring local residents dis-
placed by the hurricane and paying them living wages, as
well as recruiting students and other volunteers. In all, near-
ly 3,000 workers have contributed to the ACORN Home
Clean-Out Demonstration Program cleaning up neighbor-
hoods and gutting damaged houses, including removing
debris and saving personal belongings, ripping out dry wall,
sanitizing structures to remove and prevent mold growth,
and putting tarps on roofs to prevent water damage.
ACORN work crews are often met with tears of
gratitude from neighborhood residents as the houses are
Im extremely grateful for the effort
ACORN has made. This is such a
great help. I could not have had my
house cleaned without the help of
ACORN.
Gail Tucker, Gentilly Homeowner
Im extremely grateful for the effort
ACORN has made. This is such a
great help. I could not have had my
house cleaned without the help of
ACORN.
Gail Tucker, Gentilly Homeowner
Above: ACORN member Gail
Tucker saves cherished photo-
graphs as ACORN volunteers
gut her Gentilly home. Opposite
Page: ACORN member Lloyd
Lorenzo helps gut homes in
New Orleans.
Above: ACORN member Gail
Tucker saves cherished photo-
graphs as ACORN volunteers
gut her Gentilly home. Opposite
Page: ACORN member Lloyd
Lorenzo helps gut homes in
New Orleans.
A
CORN earned national recognition for its work in
the aftermath of Katrina when, in November, New
Orleans ACORN Head Organizer Stephen Bradberry
received the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
Award. Bradberry is the first individual American recip-
ient of the award, which was established in 1984 and is
given to activists who have demonstrated a commitment
to social justice in the tradition of Robert F. Kennedy.
In prior years, advocates for social justice in countries
such as Haiti, Brazil, India, and Chad have received the
award. Bradberry was especially honored for his lead-
ership in fighting for the rights of low and moderate
income Hurricane Katrina survivors, as well as for his
years of work for justice in low-income New Orleans
communities. Mrs. Robert F. Kennedy presented the
award in a ceremony in the U.S. Capitol, where historian
Douglas Brinkley, Senator Edward Kennedy and Senator
Barack Obama joined in honoring Bradberrys work.
ACORNs
Katrina Work
Earns National
Recognition
ACORN Organizer Steve Bradberry accepts the RFK Human
Rights Award from Ethel Kennedy and Sen. Ted Kennedy.
repaired and personal possessions are saved. Dorian
Theodore and his family were displaced from their home
in the New Orleans East neighborhood after Katrina. We
heard about ACORN through another relative, says Dorian,
whose home was enrolled in the clean-out program in
January. Just going through what we went through as far
as the hurricane goes, its still a shock. So thank God that
ACORN is gutting the house and were going to come back,
fix it up and its going to be our home again.
ACORN work crews are often met with
tears of gratitude from neighborhood
residents as the houses are repaired
and personal possessions are saved.
ACORN work crews are often met with
tears of gratitude from neighborhood
residents as the houses are repaired
and personal possessions are saved.
ACORNs
Katrina Work
Earns National
Recognition
Financial Justice
Above and Below Right: After a hard-fought battle, ACORN
was able to get Liberty Tax to improve disclosure policies.
After years of protest and pressure,
ACORN has gotten two of the nations
largest tax preparers, H&R Block
Inc. and Jackson Hewitt Inc., to
promise to improve how they
promote, sell and disclose the
terms of refund loans.
Jackson Hewitt Reforms Save
Customers $19.5 Million
On Tax Day, April 15, as the result of a yearlong ACORN
campaign, Jackson Hewitt the nations second largest
tax preparer announced reforms to its sales practices
of high-cost tax Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs). The
company eliminated the $40 RAL application fee at its
605 company-owned stores and promised to work to get
its franchisees to do the same, improved disclosures at
all of its offices, and succeeded in getting Santa Barbara
Bank and Trust to remove its surcharge on EITC refunds
saving customers over $19.5 million per year!
Liberty Tax Improves Disclosures;
CT Passes Anti-RAL Legislation
In 2005, ACORN also targeted Liberty Tax, the countrys
third largest tax preparation company, to improve its RAL
sales practices. ACORN held a series of coordinated
protests outside Liberty Tax offices in over 60 cities in
February and March, including a rally of 200 ACORN
members from ten states at company headquarters in
Virginia Beach. Liberty has entered into negotiations
with ACORN over its RAL prices and practices, and has
already made changes to its consumer disclosures to
promote the benefits of free electronic filing. In a related
victory, Connecticut ACORN helped pass legislation cap-
ping RAL interest rates which can normally exceed
200% at a maximum 60%. Connecticut is the first state
in the nation to regulate the interest rates of RALs.
Washington Post - January 23, 2005
Top: Members participate in a protest at the Wells Fargo share-
holders meeting in California. Above: ACORN tax preparers in
New Orleans help a family claim their EITC benefit.
Wells Fargo Reduces
Prepayment Penalties; ACORN
Keeps Up Pressure for Reforms
In 2005, ACORN continued its two-year campaign
against the abusive practices of Wells Fargo, one of the
nations largest subprime lenders, by releasing inves-
tigative reports, holding protests around the country
including a rally at Wells Fargos shareholder meeting
in San Francisco and filing dozens of complaints with
Attorneys General in three states. In March, ACORN
released a study, The Runaway Stagecoach: Racial and
Economic Inequality in Wells Fargos Subprime Lending
which revealed that Wells Fargos subprime affiliate
makes a disproportionate number of high-cost refi-
nance loans in minority and low-income neighborhoods.
Following a series of ACORN protests, in August Wells
Fargo announced that it would reduce its prepayment
penalties additional fees charged to homeowners who
refinance their mortgage before the end of the loan peri-
od from six months of up to 11% interest to a maximum
rate of 3%. ACORN members continue to pressure Wells
Fargo to repay the families and communities it has hurt
with its abusive lending practices, account for the racial
and economic disparities in its lending, and increase
access to affordable loans and equity-building for minority
customers.
ACORN Helps 16,000 Families
Claim Millions in Tax Refunds
In 2005, ACORN expanded its successful Earned Income
Tax Credit (EITC) outreach and free tax preparation pro-
gram from three cities in 2004 to 45 cities around the
country. Organized in partnership with the IRS Volunteer
Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, ACORN Free Tax
Preparation Centers enabled 16,000 families to easily file
returns and receive refunds. ACORN-run VITA sites in
San Antonio (TX), New Orleans (LA), San Francisco
(CA), and Harrisburg (PA) filed more returns than any
other VITA sites in their respective cities.
ACORN Free Tax Center Results - 2005
Benefits to 16,000 families:
o Total refunds: $19.5 million
o EITC and Child Tax Credits: $13 million
o Tax preparation fees saved: $2 million*
*Dollars saved by not paying commercial tax
preparation fees.
Financial Justice
hood chapter, Las Lomas ACORN.
With other ACORN
members Christina organized a
candle-light vigil to call attention
to her neighborhoods lack of
streetlights and speed bumps.
Local TV stations covered
the vigil and were able to film an
accident that was all too typical
for Christinas neighborhood.
Just as the local TV station was
interviewing a woman at the
vigil, a little boy went out into
the street and a speeding driver
had to slam on his brakes, says
Christina. The woman being
interviewed was the boys
mother, and the incident found a
place on the evening news.
Next Christina helped citi-
zens take part in ACORNs com-
prehensive financial justice ini-
tiatives designed to help people
keep more of their hard-earned
money. Working with ACORN,
Christina helped promote the
Earned Income Tax Credit,
expose the high cost of Refund
Anticipation Loans (RALs), and
provide free tax preparation ser-
vices. In March 2004, Christina
introduced millions of primetime
television viewers to RAL scams
when she played an undercover
role in a segment of Dateline,
NBCs Emmy-winning investiga-
tive news program.
Pretending to be a naive tax
preparation customer, Christina
walked into a Jackson Hewitt
C
HRISTINA TALARCZYK FIRST JOINED ACORN IN 2003,
after she moved from Minnesota to San Antonios Las
Lomas neighborhood where she noticed that high-speed
traffic and a lack of streetlights made the streets danger-
ous. ACORNs organizer came to her house, and with the
hope of improving neighborhood safety, Christina became
one of the first members of San Antonios fourth neighbor-
office with a Dateline producer
who had a camera hidden in his
sunglasses. The tax prepara-
tion employees were caught on
camera as they tried to convince
Christina to take out a high-inter-
est RAL. The Jackson Hewitt
employee said it takes the IRS
too long to process a refund, and
made RALs seem so much faster,
Christina explains. It was surreal
to see myself on TV. I had family
members calling from Minnesota
and New Mexico to tell me theyd
seen it.
In 2005, Christina continued
her work on RALs and helped
promote ACORNs free tax prep-
aration services. She and other
members of her ACORN crew
visited the offices of tax prepara-
tion companies approximately
twenty times. Wed hand out
flyers to people walking into the
tax prep offices and when they
realized ACORN could prepare
taxes for free, they would leave,
Christina says. The local media
covered the protests and when
phone numbers for the ACORN
office were broadcast on TV,
ACORN received calls from many
interested people who couldnt
believe they could have their
taxes done for free. Christinas
hard work paid off and in 2005
San Antonio ACORN filed close
to 2,000 returns, the most returns
filed by any independent VITA
site in the city.
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Christina
Talarczyk
San Antonio, TX

Christina
introduced millions
of primetime
television viewers
to RAL scams when
she played an
undercover role
in a segment of
Dateline, NBCs
Emmy-winning
investigative news
program.
Living Wage and Minimum Wage
Above: A Pine Bluff (AR) ACORN member at a minimum wage
rally in Washington DC. Below, left: ACORN members and
minimum wage coalition partners in Albuquerque.
ACORN Launches Campaigns to
Boost Wages in Four States
In 2005, ACORN and our community and labor allies
launched ballot initiative campaigns in Arizona, Colorado,
Michigan, and Ohio to increase the state minimum wage
to $6.75 or more with annual indexing to inflation poten-
tially delivering raises for an estimated 1.6 million work-
ers. To kick off the campaigns, in June, Senator John
Edwards and ACORN National President Maude Hurd
toured five cities where coalitions of labor and community
groups were preparing to collect hundreds of thousands
of signatures to qualify for the November 2006 ballot. By
the end of 2005, Ohioans for a Fair Minimum Wage a
coalition including ACORN, Ohio AFL-CIO and its affili-
ates, and the state Democratic leadership had already
gathered over 50,000 signatures. ACORN is also work-
ing on a minimum wage ballot initiative campaign in
Arkansas.
Winning Higher Wages in 2005
In Florida, ACORN successfully defended the $1 per
hour minimum wage increase we won in November
2004 from state legislative attack. The increase to
$6.15 took effect in May, and was indexed to $6.40 in
January 2006.
In New Jersey, ACORN and the Fairness Alliance
helped pass a $2 increase in the state minimum
wage, delivering a raise to more than 300,000 mini-
mum wage workers.
ACORN and our community
and labor allies launched ballot
initiative campaigns in Arizona,
Colorado, Michigan, and Ohio
to increase the state minimum
wage to $6.75 or more with annual
indexing to inflation, potentially
delivering raises for an estimated
1.6 million workers.
Living Wage and Minimum Wage
In Albuquerque (NM), the ACORN-led Albuquerque
Living Wage Campaign collected 33,700 signatures
to get a proposal on the October city election ballot
to raise the citys minimum wage to $7.50 per hour.
The proposal which would have been only the third
of its kind in the nation was narrowly defeated by
an unprecedented campaign of deception by busi-
ness opposition that outspent proponents 3 to 1. The
campaign, however, laid the groundwork for an effort
by ACORN and allies to pass a statewide minimum
wage hike at the same level.
After winning a minimum wage increase in 2003,
Illinois ACORN and our labor allies beat back busi-
ness opponents attempts to halt the second stage of
the increase to $6.50, ensuring that the full increase
will benefit nearly 500,000 workers.
Philadelphia ACORN joined coalition allies to pass a
living wage ordinance raising wages for some of the
lowest paid city workers, tying the living wage rate to
150% of the state minimum wage.
Top: An ACORN minimum wage rally in Ohio. Above: In June,
Senator John Edwards joined ACORN President Maude Hurde
on a five city tour to help kick off ACORNs 2006 minimum
wage ballot initiative campaigns.
W
ILLIAM KYSER JOINED ACORN IN OCTOBER OF
2004, because he wanted to help get out the vote for
the upcoming presidential election. He and his son can-
vassed door to door in their Albuquerque neighborhood
and registered as many voters as they could. William
enjoyed doing outreach for ACORN, so in 2005 he contin-
ued to work on ACORNs campaign to improve healthcare
William Kyser
Albuquerque, NM

Fifty audience
members listened
to the debate and
William feels he was
able to sway them
into supporting
the minimum
wage increase.
We changed their
minds, he says.
After the debate,
they came out
enlightened.
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and wages for Wal-Mart work-
ers by distributing fliers and
meeting with New Mexicos U.S.
Representative Tom Udall and
Senator Jeff Bingaman. William
also ran the sound system and
cameras for ACORNs TV talk
show on the public access
Channel 27. The show, which has
been broadcast for three years,
reaches 1,000 viewers weekly,
and features experts and guest
speakers who debate a variety of
local issues. When the opportu-
nity arose in early 2005, William
took on the challenge and
became the shows new host.
Im not Merv Griffin, but I
like talking to people, William
says of his host position. William
worked especially hard on the
ACORN-led Albuquerque Living
Wage Campaign and its ballot
initiative to raise Albuquerques
minimum wage to $7.50. He host-
ed expert economists and fea-
tured city council members and
union leaders on the show. He
even had a McDonalds worker
on the program who talked about
how hard it is to survive on the
minimum wage. His wife was
pregnant and he needed medi-
cation too. Every month they had
to decide which one of them they
would buy medicine for, William
notes.
In addition to the show,
William put his high school
debating team experience
to work, and faced off with
Chamber of Commerce CEO
Terry Cole twice, once on a radio
show and once at a live public
forum. I argued that we needed
the increase now, not five years
from now, and I pointed out that
many municipal fees had just
been increased in 2005, William
says. Fifty audience members lis-
tened to the debate and William
feels he was able to sway them
into supporting the minimum
wage increase. We changed
their minds, he says. After the
debate, they came out enlight-
ened.
ACORN members collected
over 33,000 signatures in favor of
the initiative and did their best
to counter the heavily funded
business interests who fought it.
Even though this high powered
opposition outspent ACORN 3 to
1, ACORNs initiative came very
close to passing and lost only by
a slim margin. William remains
optimistic about the chance of
increasing the minimum wage
in New Mexico and feels that his
show can continue to gather pop-
ular support for the proposed
statewide increase in 2006.
Weve got people talking about
it now, and weve learned a lot,
he says. I think we know now
how to pass a statewide wage
increase.
Affordable Housing
Texas ACORN members participate in a rally to end contract
for deed scams.
The new ACORN-backed law
provides groundbreaking
protections to families holding a
contract for deed, including the
right to convert their contract into
a traditional mortgage.
Texas Passes Legislation to Stop
Contract for Deed Abuses
After a year and a half campaign against unscru-
pulous real estate investors that use contracts for deed
to prey on families in Texas, in 2005 Texas ACORN won
passage of statewide legislation providing significant pro-
tections for homebuyers. Contract for deed scams target
low-income and immigrant families, promising families that
after 20-30 years of on-time payments, they will own their
own homes only oftentimes the seller forces families to
move and forfeit their investment in the properties before
the contract is up. ACORN initially organized 200 victims
who bought property from the same real estate investor in
Houston and then ACORN members took their fight to
the state capital, testifying at legislative hearings and hold-
ing rallies around the state. The new ACORN-backed law
provides groundbreaking protections to families holding a
contract for deed, including the right to convert their con-
tract into a traditional mortgage. If the title holder cannot
convey clear title to the buyer, the law obligates the seller
to refund the buyer 100% of the money invested into the
property since the date the contract for deed was signed.
Contract for deed is a traditional Texas form of real
estate purchase, a kind of rent to own plan meant
to benefit homebuyers who dont qualify for tradi-
tional mortgages. Contract for deed homebuyers
live in the home they are purchasing, make down
payments and monthly payments to the seller, pay
for homeowners insurance and property repairs,
but do not have the deed put in their name until
certain conditions are met. Often the deed is with-
held indefinitely and the homebuyers are treated
like renters. Sometimes homebuyers are evicted on
dubious grounds just before they earn their deed.
A
T HER FIRST ACORN MEETING IN JANUARY 2004,
Toni McElroy was impressed with ACORNs in-depth
knowledge of her neighborhood. I was interested
in learning how to buy a home. When the organizers
showed us a map of all the vacant properties in my area, I
realized ACORN cared enough to do its homework. Toni
attended meetings regularly and after a year, in January
Toni McElroy
Houston, TX

Tonis ACORN
chapter worked
city by city and
found 200 families
in Houston alone
who had lost money
in these housing
scams and wanted
to join ACORN to
fght contract for
deed abuses.
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2005 became one of the first
ACORN members to lead the
fight against contract for deed
scams. We had homebuyers
paying homeowners insurance
premiums and then not receiving
benefits when the house burned
down, because everything was
still in the sellers name, Toni
explains. One homebuyer had
paid $15,000 on her home, but
when her home was flooded, she
never got a dime.
Toni and fellow ACORN
members first approached the
Houston City Council, but since
contract for deed agreements
were legal in Texas, the council
members explained that ACORN
needed to get a bill passed
in the Texas State Legislature.
Undaunted, Tonis ACORN chap-
ter worked city by city, and found
200 families in Houston alone
who had lost money in these
housing scams and wanted to
join ACORN to fight contract for
deed abuses. She worked closely
with Texas Senator Harold Dutton
who sponsored House Bill 1823
which guarantees protections for
contract for deed homebuyers.
She also coordinated the mas-
sive busing of ACORN members
from all over Texas to Austin. 200
ACORN members bused into
the State Capitol and met one-
on-one with Texas Senators and
Representatives in February, and
in April, 300 members bused to
the Capitol again to urge Texas
Legislators to protect home-own-
ers.
Toni made eight trips to
Austin in 2005, and as she orga-
nized press conferences and ral-
lies, the bill steadily drew bipar-
tisan support. The state legisla-
ture passed the bill in June, and
Toni and a small contingent of
eight other Texas ACORN mem-
bers watched Governor Rick
Perry sign the bill and shook his
hand.
Through all of this work with
ACORN, what has impressed
Toni most is the selflessness of
ACORN members. Many of them
worked on the contract for deed
bill, though it would not benefit
them personally. One mem-
ber had already lost her house,
but she made the trips down to
Austin to keep these crooked
sellers from exploiting other
homebuyers. Another group of
members made a pact not to
move from their homes until the
bill passed, because they didnt
want another family to sign a
contract for deed. They stayed
and fought for others.
Affordable Housing
Last month, in a boisterous rally
at Brooklyn Borough Hall, Mayor
Bloomberg, [Bruce] Ratner and [NY
ACORN Executive Director Bertha]
Lewis announced an agreement to build
thousands of units of low-cost housing.
The agreement was a milestone.
New York Wins 2,500 Affordable
Housing Units
In April, New York ACORN leaders joined Mayor Michael
Bloomberg and developer Bruce Ratner to announce an
ACORN-negotiated agreement that requires 50% of the
apartments at least 2,500 units in a multi-billion dol-
lar development in downtown Brooklyn to be set aside
for affordable housing. Also in New York, Housing Here
and Now a coalition co-founded by New York ACORN
that includes over 100 housing groups and labor unions
negotiated commitments to set aside affordable housing
in two large rezonings that will account for thousands of
affordable units. In addition, the coalition got the Mayor to
support a $130 million New York City Housing Trust Fund,
which will create or preserve 4,500 affordable housing
units for more than 11,000 New Yorkers over the next
four years.
Fighting for Inclusionary Zoning
In 2005, ACORN chapters around the country, including
New Jersey, Washington DC, Los Angeles (CA), and
Chicago (IL), mobilized thousands of community mem-
bers as they made progress towards passing inclusion-
ary zoning ordinances policies that set aside a fixed
percentage of affordable units in housing developments.
In Los Angeles, while fighting for inclusionary zoning,
ACORN members and neighborhood residents success-
fully pressured a developer to set aside 150 affordable
units in the Northwest Gateway downtown development
and secured an agreement from another developer to pay
$600,000 to the citys Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
Top: New York ACORN Exec. Director Bertha Lewis announc-
es a groundbreaking agreement, creating thousands of
low-income housing opportunities. Above: Washington DC
ACORN members and allies marched on the mayors office to
deliver almost 2,000 postcards calling on the mayor to support
inclusionary zoning.
The New York Times - June 9, 2005
G
REG BLANKINSHIP HAS BEEN A COMMUNITY
leader in fair housing in Brooklyn since 1998 when
he became tenant association president for his Prospect
Heights building. In 2000, he joined ACORN because
he liked the way ACORN helped low-income people
access affordable housing and learn their rights as ten-
ants. Tenants vastly outnumber landlords in New York, so
Greg
Blankinship
Brooklyn, NY

The agreement
guarantees truly
affordable housing.
Now someone
making just over
$17,000 a year
can rent the same
apartment as the
tenant next door to
him, someone who
makes $103,000 a
year.
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the more they understand their
rights, the more empowered our
communities are, Greg explains.
In 2005, Greg began assist-
ing Brooklyn ACORNs negotia-
tions with Bruce Ratner who was
bidding for a chance to develop
the Atlantic Railyards into a mas-
sive 24-acre complex including
an NBA arena for the New Jersey
Nets and thousands of residential
units in new high-rise build-
ings. Greg knew this develop-
ment could radically change his
Prospect Heights neighborhood,
a modest residential area that
has only witnessed gradual,
patchy gentrification in the past
few years. Unlike some Prospect
Heights residents who wanted
to stop the Ratner development,
Greg and Brooklyn ACORN felt
that ACORN ought to work with
the developer to make sure the
plan would benefit Prospect
Heights low-income residents.
Along with other ACORN
members, Greg drummed up
local support for a development
plan that included low-income
housing. He attended several
community board meetings,
helped distribute information
about the plan, and recruited
leaders of local community
groups to speak out on behalf of
ACORNs efforts.
The hard work paid off
on May 23, 2005, when Ratner
signed ACORNs Memorandum
of Understanding that guaran-
teed the Atlantic Yards project
would provide 2,250 affordable
housing units which would be
rented at only 30 percent of the
renters incomes. This means that
50% of the developments units
would be devoted to low and
moderate income residents, a
significant percentage in a city
where affordable housing agree-
ments are rare and often require
developers to set aside only 20%
of units. Now someone making
just over $17,000 a year can rent
the same apartment as the tenant
next door to him, someone who
makes $103,000 a year, Greg
explains.
In addition to affordable
housing, the ACORN agree-
ment guarantees construction
contracts and leased space for
minority- and women-owned
businesses, gives low-income
people from the area priority for
jobs, and includes plans for a
health clinic and day care center
in the development. To make
sure that Ratner follows through
with these plans, in 2006 Greg
will serve on a board to keep the
housing development in compli-
ance. Financial penalties can be
levied if Ratner backs out of any
of the provisions he signed onto,
he explains.
Affordable Housing
W
HEN SHAROL JASON MOVED INTO HER 12TH-
floor apartment in Toronto 22 years ago, her luxury
high-rise building and its twin next door were the jewels
of the neighborhood. She never imagined a new landlord
would take over in 1995 and neglect the buildings for
years, turning them into roach-infested slums. And she
never imagined that in December 2004, she would spend
six weeks trapped in her own
apartment.
Sharol has Multiple Sclerosis
and uses a wheelchair. In
December 2004, when a flood in
both buildings disabled the ele-
vators and heating systems, the
landlords lack of response was
typical the elevators were down
for six weeks. Sharol couldnt
leave the 12th floor and her sister
Toby, who lived in the complexs
other building, at times had to
walk down 24 flights from her
apartment and then up 12 flights
to bring Sharol groceries.
Luckily, Sharol was ready to
take on her landlord. She had
been a member of ACORN for
three months, and was already
organizing a group of tenants
to fight for improvements in the
building. Becoming a prisoner
in my own apartment was a good
opportunity to spotlight our prob-
lems, Sharol explains.
Sharol contacted the media
and was soon interviewed on
local news stations. A sign Sharol
had written and posted on her
door read The Prisoner of 1202,
(her apartment number) and
newscasters who liked Sharols
nickname began using it in their
stories. The name stuck and
even now Sharol is recognized
by strangers as The Prisoner of
1202.
In the months following the
elevator disaster, Sharol and
several other tenants who were
ACORN members took their
landlord to court. As she attend-
ed hearings and rallies, Sharol
hoped that along with her fight
for tenants rights, her presence
as an activist in a wheelchair
would also get people think-
ing about how important public
wheelchair access is. ACORN
members who have helped push
me up a ramp or two are begin-
ning to understand how difficult it
is to get around, she explains.
The ACORN plaintiffs were
eventually awarded a 20% rebate
on rent paid in 2004 and a 10%
reduction in rent for most of
2005. Collectively, tenants won
$250,000 from their landlord.
But for Sharol, more impressive
than the settlement was the way
ACORN helped tenants in her
building come together. Sharol
recalls that, at first, people were
so afraid. But ACORN was so
professional they helped us
become a force to be reckoned
with.
Sharol will soon be moving to
the small town of Barrie, Ontario,
where she plans to start a new
ACORN chapter. Barrie doesnt
have any slums, but they do have
some check-cashing places that
need to be shut down, she says.
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Sharol Jason
Toronto, Ontario

As she attended
hearings and rallies,
Sharol hoped that
along with her fght
for tenants rights,
her presence as
an activist in a
wheelchair would
also get people
thinking about
how important
public wheelchair
access is.
in several city apartment buildings. Above: ACORN members
take HUD Secretary Alphonso Jackson (left) on a tour of neigh-
borhoods impacted by contract for deed scams.
Local Affordable Housing Wins
ACORN neighborhood chapters have also won numerous
victories to create safe and affordable housing, with high-
lights including:
In San Antonio (TX), ACORN won a new emergency
home repair program with initial funding from the city
of $100,000.
In Philadelphia (PA), ACORN, the Womens
Community Reinvestment Project (WCRP) and
United Communities successfully pushed the city
council to increase the Basic Systems Repair budget
by $3.4 million, which is expected to save more than
650 homes over the next year.
In Little Rock (AR), the owner of Rolling Hills Mobile
Home Park was fined $12,000 and required to install
propane tanks, bring electrical outlets up to code,
and make other improvements for 150 families after
Arkansas ACORN members protested conditions that
forced park residents to live without hot water, heat,
or cooking facilities.
Toronto ACORN members helped secure $4 million
in repairs and new appliances and won new security
equipment and health and safety repairs in several
city apartment buildings. Also in Toronto, the Ontario
Rental Housing Tribunal granted ACORN members
a rare rent abatement for one year, after ACORN
protested deplorable conditions in two high-rise apart-
ment buildings, including safety problems and mas-
sive pest infestation.
Education
Houston ACORN members and other allies call for community
members to Vote for Schools, Vote for Change.
Hey, D.C., put your money where
your mouth is No Child Left
Behind should be a solution not a
slogan.
A
CORN worked around the country in 2005 to prevent
cuts in education, press for new school funding, and
create pilot programs to improve the quality of education
in low-income schools.
In Chicago (IL), the ACORN-organized Chicago
Learning Collaborative secured $1.5 million from the
state of Illinois to implement the Grow Your Own
teaching program, which provides training for para-
professionals, parents, and community members to
become certified teachers in Illinois low-income pub-
lic schools. The allocation followed a two-year effort
by ACORN and allies that helped pass enabling leg-
islation for the program, which is designed to combat
high teacher turnover rates.
In New York City, ACORN and the Community
Collaborative to Improve Bronx Schools (CC9)
worked with the Department of Education to expand
its Lead Teacher program citywide. Lauded by The
Sharon Patterson-Stallings,
ACORN Member
Top: California ACORN members lobby for better education
funding in Sacramento. Above: Oregon ACORN members host
a forum to grill school board candidates on issues like school
closures, testing requirments, and abandoned properties.
New York Times for improving test scores, the Lead
Teacher Program supplies under-performing schools
with veteran educators who work in the classroom
and mentor new teachers. In Brooklyn, New York
ACORN and its labor and community-based allies in
the Brooklyn Educational Collaborative (BEC) pushed
for better science education in the boroughs middle
schools and won initial funding of $200,000 to open
and fully stock science labs.
In Providence (RI), after a number of protests includ-
ing a 500 person rally at the state house in June,
ACORN members prevented further state cuts to
education and stopped the Providence School District
from cutting $4 million and 102 positions includ-
ing elementary teachers, nurses, and social workers
from the school district budget.
In California, in June over 1,500 ACORN mem-
bers and allies from community, religious, and labor
groups participated in the Everyones Voice Should
Be Heard rally in Sacramento to successfully
oppose the governors proposed ballot initiatives that
would have, in part, reduced funding for K-12 public
schools.
In Los Angeles (CA), ACORN members partnered
with the staff and leaders of United Teachers of Los
Angeles (UTLA) to organize a convention on educa-
tion policy as part of a new effort to address both
school-specific and larger policy issues in South Los
Angeles.
In Hartford (CT), ACORN leader Sharon Patterson-
Stallings was elected to the school board after defeat-
ing the Republican incumbent by a 2 to 1 margin.
In addition to fighting for
safer streets around schools
and better trained teachers and
principals, CC9 last year brokered
a remarkable deal between the
teachers union and the school
system to create a lead teacher
program.
The New York Times - May 20, 2005
Education
A
MOTHER OF THREE YOUNG CHILDREN, MARTHA
Sanchez joined Los Angeles ACORN in 2002 because
she wanted to improve the safety of her neighborhood
where her children play and go to school. She worked
with ACORN to clean up alleys and tear down abandoned
homes. And she began a long fight against the polluter
Palace Plating, a chrome plating factory located across
the street from the 28th St.
Elementary School that her chil-
dren attend. Teachers and peo-
ple living around the school were
getting sick. There were several
cases of cancer, Martha explains.
Martha used her reputation
as a community activist and her
bilingual skills to rouse her low-
income, predominantly Hispanic
neighborhood that had been long
neglected by public officials. We
had never complained before. We
were an abandoned community,
Martha says. After two years of
steady work, in February 2004,
the Los Angeles City Attorney
filed ten charges against Palace
Plating. City and state officials
also launched several efforts to
crack down on similar pollut-
ers throughout Los Angeles and
California.
In 2005, California Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger intro-
duced Proposition 76 to cut the
states education budget by scal-
ing back payments that the state
owes to the school system and
by circumventing Proposition 98,
the 1988 voter-approved measure
which prevents education budget
cuts. Martha began working with
ACORN to keep The Terminator
from terminating California
childrens rights to a quality edu-
cation. On August 21 at the L.A.
Convention Center, Martha rallied
with one hundred other people
including ACORN members,
UTLA teachers union members,
the firefighters union, and the
nurses union and demanded
a chance to meet with Gov.
Schwarzenneger who was speak-
ing there at a restaurant owners
convention. Schwarzeneggers
security guards sneaked him out
to a nearby building and he never
met with Martha and her crew, but
the event was covered in the local
newspapers and TV news.
Martha also played a non-
speaking role in UTLAs anti-
Schwarzenegger TV spots, and
was the main speaker in three
versions of their Spanish-lan-
guage radio spots. In one ver-
sion I say how his budget hurts
children, in another how it hurts
teachers, and in another how it
affects all education, Martha
explains. The joint effort of
ACORN and the teachers unions
was successful and California vot-
ers refused to pass Proposition 76.
In 2006, Martha plans to con-
tinue her ACORN work and to
work on her own education: an
Associates Degree in Community
Planning and Economic
Development. My educational
goal is to learn to be more effi-
cient with issues around my com-
munity. Ive learned a lot about
that from working with ACORN
too, Martha says.
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Martha Sanchez
Los Angeles, CA

In one version I
say how his budget
hurts children,
in another how
it hurts teachers,
and in another
how it affects all
education, says
Martha, describing
her speaking role
in several Spanish-
language radio
spots for UTLAs
anti-Schwarzenegger
campaign.
Healthcare Access
Top: ACORN members and allies stop the closing of Bethany
Hospital. Above: ACORN members in Palmetto County (FL)
push for bilingual language access at area hospitals.
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n 2005 ACORN members organized around the coun-
try to demand that hospitals provide free or reduced
cost care, or charity care, to low-income patients and
stop aggressive debt collection practices. As part of this
campaign ACORN released two studies jointly with The
Access Project, which found deficiencies in hospitals
charity care disclosures and documented widespread
housing problems facing patients with medical debt.
In Ohio, Columbus ACORN negotiated with the
OhioHealth hospital chain to win debt reductions for
patients eligible for charity care and removal of liens
totaling over $700,000.
In Pittsburgh (PA), ACORN members forced the
University of Pittsburgh Medical Center to improve
its charity care policies, resulting in the reduction
of approximately $100,000 in debt for low-income
patients at its 17 hospitals.
In Arizona, Banner Health, in response to pressure
by ACORN, increased the number of families who
qualify for charity care at its hospitals and lowered
the hospital bills of low-income patients by $30,000.
In Arkansas as a result of ACORNs efforts, St.
Vincent Hospitals in a critical step towards reduc-
ing medical debt for low and moderate income fami-
lies became the first health care provider in the
state to announce it would offer the uninsured the
same discounts on services as those negotiated by
private insurers and government programs reduc-
tions that average 60%.
In Chicago (IL), ACORN, TARGET Area
Development Corporation, and other allies stopped
the closing of Bethany Hospital, a 150-bed acute
care facility serving low-income patients.
In Missouri, ACORN organized to success-
fully challenge the hospital association and the
state to include an $.85 increase in the cigarette
tax to fund smoking cessation programs and
restore Medicaid to almost 100,000 families.
In 2006, ACORN will participate in an effort
to gather 150,000 signatures to qualify for the
November ballot
Environmental Justice
Above and Right: ACORN members from around the country
rally in Ohio to take on Sherwin Williams.
Lead Poisoning Prevention
ACORN expanded its innovative childhood lead poisoning
prevention program to a total of fourteen cities in 2005.
ACORN also conducted dust wipe sampling in over 750
high risk homes to identify lead hazards and organized
lead-safe trainings for hundreds of low-income families
in New Orleans (LA), Baltimore and Prince Georges
County (MD), Dallas and Houston (TX), Atlanta (GA),
Wilmington (DE), Philadelphia (PA), Paterson and
Newark (NJ), Cleveland (OH), Phoenix (AZ), Little
Rock (AR), and Louisville (KY).
In October, 400 ACORN members from 7 states and 18
cities marched into the annual meeting of the National
Paint and Coating Association (NPCA), demanding they
take responsibility for the continued lead poisoning of mil-
lions of low-income children and won negotiations with
the NPCA around cleaning up and compensating affected
communities.
In Baltimore, ACORN won the clean up of 150 lead
contaminated units. Maryland ACORN and allies also
successfully fought pro-slumlord provisions in lead laws
endorsed by the Governor and instead helped to pass
statewide legislation that forces all landlords to comply
with lead-safe provisions by February 2006.
In October, 400 ACORN members
marched into the annual meeting
of the National Paint and Coating
Association demanding they take
responsibility for the continued lead
poisoning of millions of low-income
children.
An ACORN member in New Orleans participates in a
lead dust sampling training. Above: ACORN members won
cleanup of the Cheryl Ladd Dump in El Paso (TX).
Then [my neighborhood]
organized around the pollution
issue and the local government had
never seen so many of us wanting
attention. We had hundreds of
people asking for environmental
justice, using their voices.
Martha Sanchez, ACORN Member
Environmental Health in Our
Communities
ACORN chapters also organized campaigns around local
environmental justice issues. In El Paso (TX) ACORN
members secured an agreement with the citys Solid
Waste Management Department on a work plan for the
$850,000 allocated to clean up a six-acre lot containing
medical waste bordered by residential neighborhoods.
Also in El Paso, following testimony by ACORN members
as affected parties in a legal contested case hearing,
a judge recommended that the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality (TCEQ) deny the air quality permit
application of ASARCO a smelter known for releasing
large amounts of contaminants, including arsenic and
lead, into the community. In Orlando (FL), as a result
of negotiations with the Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP), ACORN won regular groundwater, soil,
and air quality testing in a neighborhood surrounded by
seven polluting facilities, a comprehensive health study,
and regular meetings with the DEP.
Fair Utilities
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n 2005, ACORN waged successful campaigns to pre-
serve and expand access to affordable utilities for low
and moderate income families across the country.
In Pennsylvania, Governor Edward Rendell signed
into law an ACORN-backed bill to create a $20 mil-
lion Emergency Energy Assistance Fund, fulfilling
a key component of Pennsylvania ACORNs Fair
Utilities for All Platform and marking the first time the
state has moved any funding into the federal Low-
Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).
Harrisburg (PA) ACORN successfully pressured the
UGI utility company to expand its LIHEAP Customer
Assistance program to serve 4,000 additional low-
income families.
In Arkansas and Memphis (TN), ACORN nego-tiated
with local utility companies to extend mora-toriums on
shut-offs to thousands of low-income people during
the winter months starting in 2005.
After being confronted with dramatic increases in
their utility bills in the aftermath of Hurricane Wilma,
Palm Beach County (FL) ACORN mobilized hun-
dreds of residents against the rate hikes winning an
independent utility commission and a total rate reduc-
tion of $1.7 million.
In St. Louis (MO), ACORN members testimony per-
suaded the Public Service Commission to reject a
utility rate increase of $39 million statewide. Also in
St. Louis, ACORN members and SEIU Local 2000
members got Laclede Gas to match 10% of dol-
lars spent by social and governmental agencies on
low-income energy assistance programs totaling
$150,000 in additional utilities assistance for low-
income families.
Orlando (FL) ACORN, in its ongoing affordable
utilities campaign, has won initial victories with the
Orlando Utility Commission (OUC) including more
funding for low-income energy assistance, a lower
temperature threshold which bars OUC from discon-
necting service in high heat, lower deposits, and a
direct representative for ACORN members.
Top: Members from Central Florida ACORN hold a candle
light vigil as part of a utility campaign against OUC. Middle:
Members from Philadelphia ACORN stop utility trucks to pre-
vent shut-offs during the winter. Above: ACORN members in
Kansas City (MO) hold a meeting on utility rates.
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N JANUARY 2005, ROSA CHACON DISCOVERED THAT
many of her Harrisburg neighbors were having their
heat shut off. She remembered that in 1997 her own fam-
ily which included three elementary school children
had their heat shut off for two days in the middle of
winter. I know what its like. They dont tell you about the
assistance programs. They just shut you off, Rosa
Rosa Chacon
Harrisburg, PA

For each shut-off,
well have a vigil.
Well call the local
news stations to
come to each house.
Well fll up the
house with ACORN
members and well
all light candles.
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explains. An ACORN member
since 2004, Rosa decided to work
on Harrisburg ACORNs utilities
campaign so she could fight for
fair heating payment policies for
other low-income families.
From January to December
2005, UGI, which supplies natu-
ral gas for Rosas hometown
Harrisburg, shut off heat to low-
income households that had
fallen behind in payments and
couldnt afford to make their
back payments in the lump sums
UGI required. Rosa tells how one
family spent several months whit-
tling their $1,400 gas bill down
to $200 and then were shut off in
December because they hadnt
paid all of it off by the due date.
In order to have heat again, they
are required to pay the full $200,
a reconnection fee, and a depos-
it, Rosa says. They are living in
the cold while they try to get UGI
to put them on a payment plan.
On November 2, 2005, Rosa
and 35 other ACORN members
rallied and held a press confer-
ence outside UGIs Harrisburg
branch and brought city council
candidate Linda Thompson with
them. ACORN members chanted:
UGI, youve been told, leave no
family in the cold! UGI officials
refused to speak with ACORN,
and instead a UGI employee
slipped a press release under
the door. Rosa ripped up the
press release on camera and
told her local news stations how
ACORN wanted UGI to make it
easier for low-income families to
pay their gas bills.
On the day of the rally, UGI
responded to one of ACORNs
major demands when the com-
pany announced it would double
the number of people enrolled in
its customer assistance program
and provide assistance to 21.3
million people. A month later,
on December 16, Pennsylvania
Governor Ed Rendell earmarked
$20 million for an Emergency
Energy Assistance Fund to
supplement federal assistance.
While these measures were help-
ful to low-income people, Rosa
and Harrisburg ACORN still
believed that UGI needed to pro-
vide accessible payment plans.
They urged the Pennsylvania
legislature to support SB 1005,
a bill that would reform a previ-
ous law that makes it too easy for
companies to shut off heat.
Until Bill 1005 is passed,
Rosa plans to keep publicizing
UGIs policies. For each shut-
off, well have a vigil, Rosa says.
Well call the local news stations
to come to each house. Well fill
up the house with ACORN mem-
bers and well all light candles.
Voter Participation
ACORN members in California work with union partners and
allies, including Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villagairosa (far left)
and Congresswoman Maxine Waters (at podium) on a success-
ful statewide GOTV campaign to stop Governor Schwarzeneg-
gers ballot initiatives.
B
uilding on our 2004 Get Out the Vote (GOTV)
campaign which registered 1.1 million new voters,
ACORN mobilized organizers, canvassers and ACORN
members in 2005 to reach hundreds of thousands of
voters and inform them about state and local elections
around the country.
California ACORN worked with union partners
on a successful statewide GOTV campaign to
stop four ballot propositions backed by Governor
Schwarzenegger which would have placed crippling
restrictions on school funding and teacher tenure,
taken authority to redistrict from legislators, and cur-
tailed the political voice of union members. California
ACORN worked nearly 700 precincts, and knocked
on over 229,000 doors targeting over 130,000 voters.
In New Jersey, ACORN partnered with the New
Jersey Citizen Action Education Fund and the Clean
Water Fund on a voter turnout campaign for state-
wide elections targeting over 71,000 voters (32,000
by New Jersey ACORN alone) in four cities. New
Jersey ACORNs program grew to 400 Get-Out-the-
Vote crew members, 80% of whom were ACORN
members and volunteers.
Pennsylvania ACORN, as part of the GOTV effort
for local campaigns in five cities, recruited over 100
ACORN members to host candidate forums, contact
neighbors and friends in their local precinct, and run
a field effort that reached thousands of voters.
In partnership with Project Vote and Demos, ACORN
also continued to target states that discourage the
registration of new voters, and released the study Ten
Years Later: A Promise Unfulfilled which found that
nearly every state has failed to meet its obligation to
register potential voters through social service agen-
cies serving low and moderate income families. Since
1995 the annual number of registrations gathered in
this manner has dropped from 2.6 million to 1 million,
in violation of the National Voter Registration Act of
1993.
ACORN also continued to target
states that discourage the
registration of new voters, and
released the study Ten Years Later:
A Promise Unfulfilled which found
that nearly every state has failed
to meet its obligation to register
potential voters.
Taking On Wal-Mart
Top Left: A Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now (WARN) com-
munity meeting and rally against the expansion of Wal-Mart
in Orlando. Top Right: A WARN rally in St. Petersburg (FL).
Above: The Wal-Mart Workers Association, ACORN, and other
allies oppose Wal-Mart Bank.
I
n 2005, ACORN co-founded two organizations the
Wal-Mart Alliance for Reform Now (WARN) and the
Wal-Mart Workers Association (WWA) to hold Wal-
Mart accountable to community standards and fair labor
policies. WARN, a community-based alliance of faith,
labor, and advocacy groups, successfully fought Wal-
Marts expansion in Orlando, Tampa, and St. Petersburg
(FL) in 2005, and will expand into Texas and other key
states in 2006.
The Wal-Mart Workers Association (WWA) a group of
current and former Wal-Mart workers fighting for afford-
able health insurance, fair treatment, and decent wages
organized members in 25 Wal-Mart stores in Orlando,
Tampa, and St. Petersburg (FL), and secured unemploy-
ment benefits for workers whose hours are being cut by
the company. In November, WARN and WWA released a
report entitled Wal-Mart Real Wage and Turnover Study
finding that the average hourly wage of Wal-Mart work-
ers in Florida, based on a 40-hour work week, is $6.35,
as opposed to the $9.63 the company has quoted as its
hourly wage nationally. Also in November, ACORN par-
ticipated with thousands of church, labor and community
allies around the country in screening the anti-Wal-Mart
film The High Cost of Low Prices.
In September, ACORN, WARN and dozens of allies
hosted the Site Fighters conference for 85 repre-
sentatives from union and community groups to dis-
cuss strategies such as zoning ordinances and local
referendums that can be used to keep Wal-Mart out of
local communities. WARN has also developed fight-in-
a-box software that accurately predicts the expansion
of Wal-Mart stores in the next 5-10 years allowing
community groups to develop more strategic and com-
prehensive campaigns.
Organizing Home Childcare Workers
Over 1,000 ACORN members and childcare union support-
ers rally in New York City.
A
CORN organized over 50,000 home childcare workers
nationwide in 2005 as part of a partnership between the
ACORN Community Labor Organizing Center, SEIU, AFT,
and CWA. In Illinois, ACORNs sister union SEIU Local 880
also organized an additional 50,000 home childcare work-
ers who won collective bargaining rights and recognition by
the state legislature. In a historic victory, in December Local
880 home childcare providers signed their first contract,
providing salary increases averaging 35% over three years,
incentives for training and education, and access to health-
care. In New York City, ACORN partnered with the United
Federation of Teachers (UFT) and New York State United
Teachers (NYSUT) to organize home childcare workers
many of whom work overtime for an average wage of only
$19,933 per year to fight for legislation recognizing their
right to unionize. The campaign included a rally of over 1,000
providers in October. Similar organizing drives are underway
in Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
Ohio, California, Iowa, Washington, and Oregon.
SEIU Local 880 Wins Landmark
Contract for 50,000 Home
Childcare Providers
F
or over twenty years, SEIU Local 880 currently the
largest local union in Illinois has organized thousands
of homecare workers and home childcare workers to win
better rates and benefits like health care, initially going
door-to-door in low-income neighborhoods to overcome
the challenge of organizing without the benefit of a com-
mon worksite. In 1996, Local 880 started organizing home
childcare workers.Its been a long, long struggle, says
Angenita Tanner, a childcare provider in Chicago. We
work in our own homes and have always been isolated
from each other. But SEIU Local 880 gave us a way to
unite our voices. We slowly built a movement to fight for
better reimbursement rates and food subsidies for our kids.
In 1999, Local 880 mobilized childcare providers to
win one of the largest rate increases in state history a
raise of $5-$7 per child per day for Chicago-area licensed
providers. Local 880 also successfully fought millions of
Children who are
taken care of by
Local 880 childcare
providers par-
ticipate in a rally to
support the union.
Children who are
taken care of by
Local 880 childcare
providers par-
ticipate in a rally to
support the union.
dollars in cuts to childcare subsidy services in the 2002
state budget, and helped to change income guidelines to
make thousands more children eligible for the Child Care
Assistance Program.
In 2004, Local 880 collected more than 20,000 cards
from providers across Illinois authorizing the union to rep-
resent them. On April 7, 2005, Local 880 won the union
election with 97% of the vote, and Illinois home childcare
providers became the first in the country to gain union
recognition. After the Illinois governor signed a law in July
2005 granting collective bargaining rights to over 50,000
home childcare workers, Local 880 negotiated a landmark
$250 million three-year contract providing higher wages,
incentives for training and education, and health care. This
success has sparked a national movement of close to
150,000 childcare workers organizing with SEIU in over a
dozen states.
Now that we have our union contract, we will get more
respect and recognition for the work that we do, says Ella
Stacy, a home childcare provider in Peoria, Illinois. Our
first contract is only the beginning of what we can achieve
when we stick together.
Its been a long, long struggle. We
work in our own homes and have
always been isolated from each
other. But SEIU Local 880 gave us a
way to unite our voices.
Angenita Tanner,
Chicago childcare provider
Its been a long, long struggle. We
work in our own homes and have
always been isolated from each
other. But SEIU Local 880 gave us a
way to unite our voices.
Angenita Tanner,
Chicago childcare provider
SEIU members and SEIU President Andy
Stern (back, center) celebrate as Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich signs into law new
legislation giving collective bargaining rights
to over 50,000 home childcare workers.
SEIU members and SEIU President Andy
Stern (back, center) celebrate as Illinois
Governor Rod Blagojevich signs into law new
legislation giving collective bargaining rights
to over 50,000 home childcare workers.
National Policy: Fighting the Bush Agenda
Defending Social Security
In 2005, ACORN organized in Washington DC and
around the country to protect social security from privati-
zation, defend the rights of immigrants, and prevent cuts
to critical safety net programs. ACORN members work-
ing with Americans United to Protect Social Security
organized town hall meetings in Delaware, Washington
DC, and Broward County (FL), and held rallies in cities
across the country to oppose Social Security privatiza-
tion. ACORN members also targeted undecided members
of Congress and urged them to vote against privatization,
solidifying public opposition to the proposal and helping to
assure its defeat.
Fair Immigration Policy
ACORN also joined the New American Opportunity
Campaign and, in May, held media events across the
country including rallies in Rhode Island, Delaware,
and West Palm Beach (FL) led by immigrant ACORN
leaders in support of the McCain/Kennedy immigration
bill, which would create a path to citizenship for undocu-
mented U.S. residents.
The Budget: Defending
Community Services
ACORN also worked with the Emergency Campaign for
Americas Priorities on a broad national effort to stop a
Republican plan to cut taxes for the wealthy, while reduc-
ing funding for safety net programs like Food Stamps
and Medicaid. As part of this campaign, ACORN mem-
bers marched into the offices of their representatives in
Pennsylvania, Kansas City (MO), and Albuquerque
(NM) and won commitments to oppose the budget cuts.
We have to stand in solidarity.
No matter what color we are, no
matter where we come from, we
are all one people.
Tamecka Pierce,
Chair, Florida ACORN
Top: ACORN members rally in Washington DC to stop privati-
zation of Social Security. Left: ACORN members in Louisiana
deliver a message to state representatives regarding fair im-
migration reform.
Neighborhood Victories
Top: Members from Las Vegas ACORN demand grocery stores
in low income neighborhoods. Above: An ACORN rally for better
communities draws thousands in Chicago.
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very day, over 1,000 local ACORN neighborhood
chapters fight for improvements in their communities
and win hundreds of victories each year. A few notable
examples from 2005 include:
After the successful Englewood neighborhood pilot
project, Chicago (IL) ACORN and the Developing
Justice Coalition won the expansion of the CeaseFire
violence prevention program into bordering high-
crime city neighborhoods. By recruiting former gang
members to intervene in potentially violent gang con-
flicts, the program is credited with reducing the num-
ber of shootings in the target neighborhoods by 40%.
In Las Vegas (NV), ACORN forced the City to
release a 10-acre parcel of City-owned land, and
pledge more than $300,000 in development incen-
tives, for development of a full service grocery store
in a low-income neighborhood.
Colorado Springs (CO) ACORN won $130,000 in
public and private funds to convert an abandoned
31-acre field into a park in the Wildflower neighbor-
hood.
Louisville (KY) ACORN won over $20,000 for
the cleanup of 7 dangerous and neglected parks,
including graffiti removal, more lighting, and new
equipment.
Unofficial numbers show about a
40 percent reduction in shootings in
the neighborhoods where CeaseFire
is active. Community leaders say
the program...has proven capable
of bringing down the number of
shootings and murders.
Chicago Tribune - December 27, 2005
Neighborhood Victories
In Florida, as part of a fight to stop the evic-
tion of over 5,000 residents of Riviera Beach in
order to build a luxury condominium develop-
ment, Palm Beach County ACORN prevented
the sale of a public beach and got the state to
look into the use of funds by the city and the
Community Redevelopment Agency.
In Orange County (CA), ACORN prevented the
evictions of over 100 residents of Travel Country
RV Park in the city of Garden Grove and
secured almost $100,000 for improvements to
park facilities. The group is fighting the evictions
as part of a larger campaign to stop the city,
which is close to Disneyland, from redeveloping
a main street into a tourist zone.
In Oakland (CA), in response to pressure from
ACORN, the city agreed to provide a multi-lin-
gual message on the Code Enforcement phone
system, and add multi-lingual staff to field calls
from non-English speakers with housing com-
plaints and other concerns.
In Lima, Peru, ACORN won a reduction in per-
sonal property taxes, and negotiated payment
plans, impacting hundreds of thousands of peo-
ple living in one large area of the city.
ACORN members in Riviera Beach (FL) come together to fght
eviction by the city.
ACORN National
Clean Up Day
ACORN National
Clean Up Day
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n June 18 ACORN members in dozens of cities
worked to clean up their neighborhoods. ACORN
National Clean-Up Day 2005 marked the 35th anniver-
sary of the organization. Virginia ACORN members
cleaned neighborhoods in Norfolk. In New Orleans,
members cleaned up abandoned and vacant properties
in three neighborhoods. Portland, Oregon members
cleaned streets and got rid of graffiti. Pennsylvania
ACORN members picked up litter from streets and a
playground. Arizona ACORN members in Phoenix,
Glendale, and Mesa also conducted Clean-Up
Day events.
Dixmoor, IL Mayor Keevan Grimmett and Illinois ACORN
member Rickia Smith at their local Clean-Up Day event.
ACORN succeeds because
its made up of people from the
community who work on issues
they care about.
Veronica Dunn-Jones,
Chair, West Las Vegas ACORN
A
CORN ORGANIZERS OPENED A NEW LAS VEGAS
office in September 2004, and that October, Veronica
Dunn-Jones, who wanted to procure speed bumps for a
dangerous street in her West Las Vegas neighborhood,
became one of the founding members of Las Vegas
ACORNs first neighborhood chapter. A child a few miles
from my house had been struck down and injured by a
Veronica
Dunn-Jones
Las Vegas, NV

After the speed
bumps were
installed, more
of Veronicas
neighbors joined
West Las Vegas
ACORN and in April
2005 the growing
chapter started
fghting for the
construction of a
new grocery store in
their community.
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speeding driver, and two ladies
pulling out of a driveway had
been killed, Veronica explains.
West Las Vegas ACORN mem-
bers and their children picketed
for speed bumps near a street
where speeders typically violat-
ed limits. Several local TV news
teams filmed speeders zooming
past the ACORN members and
aired footage on the evening
news.
Veronicas chapter followed
the neighborhood rally by gath-
ering petition signatures and
attending city council meetings.
During one televised city council
meeting, city council members
promised to install speed bumps
in Veronicas neighborhood in six
months, but Veronica argued that,
given the citys budget surplus,
the speed bumps could be built
in one month. They agreed to the
one-month timeline while the
cameras rolled. Later Veronica
watched the confrontation on
TV. Im still nervous talking in
front of cameras, she says, but
I do what I have to to get things
done.
After the speed bumps were
installed, more of Veronicas
neighbors joined West Las Vegas
ACORN and in April 2005 the
growing chapter started fight-
ing for the construction of a
new grocery store in their com-
munity. Since the only grocery
store within five miles of West
Las Vegas had been closed down
for seven months, Veronica and
her neighbors had to either
shop at convenience stores that
charged high prices and didnt
carry fresh produce or meat, or
travel to a distant grocery store.
People have to walk fifteen or
twenty minutes just to get to the
bus stop, Veronica says. People
were making a business of rent-
ing out vans and charging elder-
ly people to go to the store.
On May 31, in a public forum
that drew 150 attendees, as well
as Las Vegas Mayor Oscar B.
Goodman, Veronicas ACORN
chapter publicized the fact that
there was city land available for
a grocery store site in West Las
Vegas. Officials from the Clark
County Health District also made
a presentation that linked health
problems to lack of full service
grocery stores in low-income
neighborhoods. On July 6, city
officials finally responded to
pressure by agreeing to release
9.5 vacant acres for bids to build
a store.
In 2006, Veronica plans to
celebrate the construction of the
store and to learn more about
community activism from ACORN
organizers. ACORN staff know
the process of getting things
done, who to reach, and how to
get the point across.
Research and Reports
In 2005, ACORN produced several national studies, in many cases co-authored with the American Institute
for Social Justice (AISJ) and other research partners, which documented inequities in education, housing, and
financial services.
The Runaway Stagecoach: Racial and Economic Inequality
in Wells Fargos Subprime Lending March 2005
A Case of Black and White: Racial Inequalities in
Wells Fargos Mortgage Lending September 2005
The High Cost of Credit: Disparities in High-Priced
Refinance Loans to Minority Homeowners in 125
American Cities September 2005
Another Crisis in the Making: How the Subprime Mortgage
Industry is Sandbagging Katrina-affected Homeowners
September 2005
Home Sick: How Medical Debt Undermines Housing
Security November 2005 (with The Access Project)
Voluntary Commitments: Have Hospitals That Signed a Confirmation
of Commitment to the AHAs Billing and Collections Guidelines
Really Changed Their Ways? May 2005 (with The Access Project)
Ten Years Later: A Promise Unfulfilled July 2005
(with Project Vote and Demos)
The
Runaway
Stagecoach
Racial and Economic
Inequality in Wells Fargos
Subprime Lending
ACORN REPORT
The Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now
Racial Inequalities in Wells
Fargos Mortgage Lending
September 2005
ACORN REPORT
The Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now
A Case of
Black
and
White
ACORN 2005 0000
THEHIGHCOST
OFCREDIT
Disparities in High-priced Refinance
Loans to Minority Homeowners in
125 American Cities
SEPTEMBER 27, 2005
Research Conducted By
ACORN Fair Housing
16 West 25h Street, Baltimore, MD 21218
fairhousing@acorn.org
FOR ACORN
739 8th Street SE, Washington, DC 20003
www.acorn.org
FOR ACORN HOUSING CORPORATION
650 S. Clark Street 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60605
www.acornhousing.org
Another Crisis in the
Making!
How the Subprime Mortgage Industry is
Sandbagging Katrina-affected Homeowners
September 22, 2005
a report by
ACORN ACORN ACORN ACORN
The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now
and
ACORN Housing ACORN Housing ACORN Housing ACORN Housing

K C I S E M O H
t b e D l a c i d e M w o H
g n i s u o H s e n i m r e d n U
y t i r u c e S

Voluntary Commitments:
HAVE HOSPITALS THAT SIGNED A
CONFIRMATION OF COMMITMENT TO THE
AMERICAN HOSPITAL ASSOCIATIONS BILLING AND
COLLECTIONS GUIDELINES
REALLY CHANGED THEIRWAYS?
May 2005
Written by:
Bill Lottero and Carol Pryor
The Access Project
A NETWORK FOR
IDEAS & ACTION

Norm Fruchter and Janelle Scott of NYU speaking at the
conference on 35 years of ACORN organizing.
Research ACORN: Past,
Present, and Future Conference
O
n December 6-7 ACORN, in partnership with the
University of Connecticut Urban & Community
Studies and the School of Social Work, convened leading
scholars in community organizing, social work, and com-
munity economic development at the Research ACORN:
Past, Present, and Future Conference. The event, which
was held at the University of Connecticut and web cast
to viewers nationwide, examined the history, strategies,
and impact of ACORNs organizing work over the last 35
years. Presenters spoke on a range of thought-provoking
issues in talks that included:
ACORN and the Living Wage Movement in the
U.S. by Stephanie Luce, Assistant Professor at the
University of Massachusetts Labor Center.
Protest Movements and Electoral Politics, by
Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished Professor of
Political Science and Sociology at the City University
of New York Graduate School and University Center.
ACORN and Progressive Politics, by Peter Dreier,
the Dr. EP Clapp Distinguished Professor of Politics
and director of the Urban & Environmental Policy
Program at Occidental College.
Other participants included Joel Rogers, Professor of
Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School, Louise
Simmons, Associate Professor at the University of
Connecticut School of Social Work, John Atlas, President
of the National Housing Institute, and Gary Delgado,
Executive Director of the Applied Research Center. The
conference was the first event in the organizations histo-
ry to bring together researchers from around the country
who are studying ACORNs work.
The event examined the history,
strategies, and impact of ACORNs
organizing work over the last 35
years. Presenters spoke on a range
of thought-provoking issues.
ACORN Housing Corporation
H
ighlights of the work of ACORN Housing Corporation
(AHC), ACORNs housing counseling and develop-
ment sister organization, in 2005 included:
AHCs housing counseling program helped 5,729
families become first-time homebuyers, and refi-
nanced another 772 homeowners into more afford-
able mortgages.
ACORN Housings development projects began
development of 600 new units of affordable hous-
ing including 251 units of affordable rentals with
new, 20-year project based section 8 contracts in
the Lawndale neighborhood of Chicago; 200 units of
affordable rentals in Brooklyn and the Bronx, NY; a
new 89 home subdivision in Houston; and a new 51
home subdivision in Phoenix.
As part of the ACORN/ACORN Housing Corporation
settlement with Household Finance, ACORN Housing
helped over 1,078 Household borrowers receive
reductions in their mortgage interest rates. In total,
in 2005, delinquent Household borrowers received
over $36 million in assistance from the Foreclosure
Avoidance Program, making it by far the most effec-
tive anti-predatory lending program in the country.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, ACORN Housing
quickly mobilized to help thousands of displaced
homeowners contact their mortgage servicers to
secure payment deferrals and prevent foreclosure
proceedings.
Top: An ACORN Housing client stands in front of her new home
in Los Angeles. Above: Peter and Kristina Armetta are saving
$6,000 per year on their mortgage payment thanks to ACORN
Housing. Below Right: ACORN Housing participates in an
information fair for Katrina survivors in Houston.
As part of the ACORN/ACORN
Housing Corporation settlement
with Household Finance, ACORN
Housing helped over 1,078
Household borrowers receive
reductions in their mortgage
interest rates.
D
URING THE LAST 20 YEARS, ACORN HOUSING HAS
helped thousands of first time homebuyers achieve
their dream of homeownership, including Linda Baldwin
of Chicago. As a single mother with four children, Linda
struggled to raise her family in Chicagos South Side.
Determined to make a change, Linda earned her GED
and started attending college courses at night, while
Linda Baldwin
Chicago, IL

AHC encouraged
and pushed me,
saying, We know
you have family,
work and school
but you need to
clean up this credit
report. They took
the time to explain
everything and to
encourage me that
things would work
out.
A
C
O
R
N

F
I
R
S
T

T
I
M
E

H
O
M
E
B
U
Y
E
R
working full time and volunteer-
ing at a youth center. But when
the house she was renting was
destroyed in a fire, Linda was
faced with the fundamental chal-
lenge of rebuilding her life again.
Friends referred her to
ACORN Housing, and Linda
began to think homeownership
was possible. Linda recalls, AHC
encouraged and pushed me [say-
ing]: We know you have family,
work and school but you need to
clean up this credit report. They
took the time to explain every-
thing and to encourage me that
things would work out.
When she had improved her
credit, Linda began renting a
home owned by ACORN Housing
and finally saved up the down
payment to purchase her own
home. Linda is anxious to share
her success with other families,
and advises: Dont give up. It
can be done. ACORN Housing
walked me through exactly what
I had to do to get a home of my
own.
ACORN Housing 1986-2005
Number of Clients counseled: 195,906
Number of Mortgages created: 67,927
Total Mortgage Amount: $7,611,853,073
Number of Clients educated: 250,886
ACORN Housing 1986-2005
Number of Clients counseled: 195,906
Number of Mortgages created: 67,927
Total Mortgage Amount: $7,611,853,073
Number of Clients educated: 250,886
With the help of ACORN Housing, Sunshine Echevarria bought a new
townhouse in Warrenville (IL).
Looking to 2006
I
n 2006, the need to keep ORGANIZING will be even
more critical, as ACORN takes on national campaigns
and challenges including:
Fighting for justice for low-income New Orleans fami-
lies in the citys rebuilding process.
Gathering thousands of signatures to put measures
on the ballot to raise the minimum wage in Ohio,
Arizona, Colorado, Michigan, and Missouri.
Running major GOTV campaigns to increase voter
participation in the upcoming mid-term congressional
and critical gubernatorial elections.
And keeping up the daily fight to win justice for low
and moderate income families across the U.S., and
now in Canada, Peru, and Mexico!
ACORNs work is more
important than ever. With big
challenges that lie ahead in
2006, ACORN members are
ready to take on the fight
and continue to win
improvements for low-
income families.
ACORNs work is more
important than ever. With big
challenges that lie ahead in
2006, ACORN members are
ready to take on the fight
and continue to win
improvements for low-
income families.
Ordinary citizens step up to do ACORN
work. Once you get involved you will never
be satisfed with grumbling again. After
getting organized and making change
happen, you can never go back to doing
nothing.
Toni McElroy, Chair, Texas ACORN
A s s o c i a t i o n o f C o m m u n i t y O r g a n i z a t i o n s f o r R e f o r m N o w
R
ACORN
2005 ANNUAL REPORT

ACORN Annual Report 2005

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