Public service campaign from Abandoned Homes Project aims to keep homeowners out of jail
Abandoned and vacant homes can cause significant damage to communities. They increase blight and crime, decrease property values, and encourage gang activity. Owning them in the US can lead to fines and jail time.
Abandoned Homes Project campaign aims to keep homeowners out of jail
Ohio-based Abandoned Homes Project launched the ‘It’s Not Worth It’ campaign to help residents in the state understand the gravity of abandoned and vacant homes—to neighborhoods and to themselves.
The campaign aims to educate homeowners on some simple facts: Owners of abandoned homes in Ohio may lose their driver’s license, face fines as great as $10,000, and serve up to a month in jail for each property they own. This is the case even if they’ve filed bankruptcy, faced foreclosure, or are divorced or unemployed. It’s also the case if you’ve sold the home, but it remains vacant. This was the situation for James Mader, a 78-year-old owner of two investment homes who was sent to jail for 45 days despite having sold the properties after visiting housing court. He suffered a heart attack while serving his time in a Cleveland jail.
Abandoned Homes Project wants these homeowners to realize that getting help before getting fined or serving jail time is easier than they might think. The organization provides free services to help; the Project’s board members approved funding to provide free legal assistance to 400 homeowners who are ‘highly likely’ to be prosecuted in 2019 based on the organization’s research.
Freelance creative Gary Fox-Robertson — a 17-year veteran of Leo Burnett who has designed ads for McDonald’s, Nintendo, Samsung, the US Army, and many more — created the campaign for Abandoned Homes Project.
‘When the Project came to me to design a campaign to reach owners of abandoned homes I, like most people, did not realize you can go to jail for owning an abandoned home,’ Fox-Robertson said in a statement. ‘This is an important message that owners of these vacant and abandoned homes should not ignore.’