Crowdfunding effort aims to help Detroiters facing foreclosure

As statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau attest, among big U.S. cities Detroit has the most alarming mix of home ownership and high poverty. It’s a recipe for people losing their primary asset — their home — due to inability to pay taxes. And with delinquent water bills added on top, it makes it all the more daunting for people to keep their homes after having stuck it out when many had written the city off.

Aside from a core of advocacy groups staging protests, the effort to keep Detroiters in their homes has mostly expressed itself in a few modest proposals and not much else. Frankly, if you’re a busy person, it’s hard to know where to begin or what to do to help.

That’s where the magic of the Internet comes in, thanks to the Tricycle Collective. Check it out:

The Tricycle Collective is launching a fundraising and awareness-raising campaign to spread the word about tax foreclosure and make sure the people who can benefit most are prepared to take advantage of it. Last year, we contributed $500 to 10 families to help them buy their houses back in auction. That was enough money to PAY IN FULL for five of those homes!

This year, they’re trying to raise $20,000, which could be enough money to help more than a dozen Detroit families stay in their homes. It’s a drop in the bucket, of course, but if it keeps some people in their homes and in their neighborhoods, it’s a worthy cause. See the group’s Patronicity page before the deadline of Sept. 30, or, better yet, get involved in the flesh at the group’s event, which will feature “stories from the front lines of the foreclosure crisis in the city of homes.” That takes place 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, at Trinosophes, 1464 Gratiot Ave., Detroit; suggested donation $10.