FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE     CONTACT
Jean Stevens, CODEPINK media coordinator, 646-723-1781

WHAT: Press conference on tragic story of Queens resident Jocelyne Voltaire's home foreclosure
WHEN: 12 p.m. Oct. 17
WHERE: Outside Queens County Courthouse, 88-11 Sutphin Boulevard, Jamaica, Queens

JAMAICA, QUEENS, N.Y. -- Jocelyne Voltaire lost her son earlier this year in Iraq and is about to lose her Queens Village home.

Voltaire, who immigrated here 21 years ago, bought her white, two-story house and raised a family there, is one of thousands of Americans whose home is being foreclosed after being caught in a mortgage scam. (Read the New York Daily News story about her foreclosure here).

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

Members of the peace action group CODEPINK Women for Peace have visited Voltaire at her home and plan to be at the Queens County courthouse tomorrow to host a press conference protesting the foreclosure. It is a poster case for what is wrong with the $700 billion bailout of taxpayer money to Wall Street.

"Jocelyne's case is symbolic of what is wrong with the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street and the banks -- it's bailing out the wrong people!" said Medea Benjamin, CODEPINK co-founder. "We're determined to make sure Jocelyne stays in her home and that the government helps people like her, not rich financiers."

It is getting major action on the blogs right now (from political blog Daily Kos to Huffington Post) after the American News Project did a story on her yesterday here in the lead-up to the presidential debate.

CODEPINK has created a web site for people to donate to a fund to pay Voltaire's mortgage here.

For more information, please call Medea Benjamin at 415-235-6517.

CODEPINK, founded in 2002, is a women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement working to end the war in Iraq, stop new wars, and redirect our resources into health care, education and other life-affirming activities. We reject the Bush administration's fear-based politics that justify violence, and instead call for policies based on compassion, kindness and a commitment to international law. With an emphasis on joy and humor, CODEPINK women and men seek to activate, amplify and inspire a community of peacemakers through creative campaigns and a commitment to non-violence. www.codepinkalert.org.