Winning Photos – Cleveland

Boarded Up

Foreclosures in Cleveland are up 50% over last year.

Out of Work

Johnny Nicholson, 40, tries to find a job as a welder or auto mechanic at the Cleveland Division of Workforce Development employment office.

Eviction Notices

Warning and final eviction notices are lined up in the office of the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department.

Bearer of Bad News

Detective Robert Cole, an officer in the Sheriff’s Department, delivers notices to residents whose homes have been repossessed.

Extreme Caution

When Detective Cole finds a home that is already abandoned or vacant, he enters with his weapon drawn, to guard against squatters. The World Press Photo judges chose this image as World Press Photo of the Year.

Bad Block

Every home on this street has been boarded up or abandoned.

Hard Lessons

Residents facing foreclosure turn to ESOP, Empowering and Strenghtening Ohio’s People, a community group that connects borrowers with lenders in hopes of establishing a reasonable solution to mortgage payments.

Paperwork

In danger of losing their home, Michelle Fortson and her husband Reginald search for a tax abatement document in their files.

Forced Out

The elderly woman who lived in this house was unable to keep up with her payments. Friends and family help her move out her belongings.

Suddenly Homeless

Darin Roseberry, 46, and his two daughters come to the Catholic Charities Emergency Center after being unexpectedly removed from their apartment. Though they paid their rent on time, their landlord had failed to meet his loan obligations and the building was repossessed. When Denise, 20, was told that the family would be split up and that she would be forced to live in a women’s shelter, she broke down in tears.

Reprieve

Catholic Charities paid for the Roseberry family to spend one night in a hotel. The following day, they were placed in separate shelters.

Dangerous

Squatters, drug dealers and junkies frequently take up residence in the abandoned homes.

Security

An inspector from Safeguard Properties patrols a $300,000 home in foreclosure. The company hires itself out to keep homes like this one from being vandalized or damaged.

Stolen

Thieves have ripped open these walls in order to remove the copper pipes and wires, which can be resold.

Auction

Mortgage brokers and their lawyers purchase homes in foreclosure at a sale organized by the Cleveland County Sheriff’s Department.

Studying

A potential purchaser studies reads at the auction.

Empty

The Randell Park Mall, once one of the nation’s largest shopping centers, is still operating, but very few of its stores are open for business.

Source: Time