MADISON, Wis. -- A local homeless advocacy group is working to find some people places to live on foreclosed properties, but authorities said that how they're doing so is breaking the law.

The practice, called squatting, refers to taking up residency in a vacant structure without the owner's permission. Some proponents have said that they think it's the answer to ending the housing crisis and ending homelessness, but it's not sitting well for others who point out that it's illegal.

Leaders of Operation Welcome Home launched their effort a few weeks ago by moving a family into a home that was going through the foreclosure process and they're encouraging others to do the same.

"We feel that housing is a human right. We don't feel like we're breaking the law," said Nate Abrams, one of the group's organizers.

Two weeks ago, Desiree Wilson and representatives from Operation Welcome Home entered a property on Tempe Drive on the city's West Side. They admit they don't even know the owner, but they entered through a broken door, changed the locks and Wilson now calls it home.

"(There are) three bedrooms instead of one. The kids are able to get up and move around freely, play with their toys," Wilson said.

The Tempe Drive property is currently going through foreclosure. The bank sale for the property is slated for next week. It has sat vacant for at least a year, WISC-TV reported.

Officials with Operation Welcome Home said that they're starting a movement to get more people off the streets and into homes. While they admit squatting is illegal, they said they're challenging the law based on morals.

"We feel that it's unjust and immoral that there's homeless people on one side of the street and empty buildings on the other side of the street," said Z! Haukeness, another group organizer.

Kate Nardi, of the Dane County Housing Authority, said that this is an unusual move.

"This is a new phenomenon, at least in my experience, here in Dane County, based on someone who's not involved in a property ownership being in that property," Nardi said.

The idea isn't sitting well with some neighbors even though group leaders said that area residents have welcomed the family there.

"I don't think they should be able to squat," said neighbor Tamar Lehmann. "I think they should be paying rent."

The group claims that the family living there is a need and it's already been paid for as Bank of America, which holds the mortgage, has received millions in federal bailout money during the current recession.

"People who are homeless need these houses more than the banks need them," Abrams said. "So we've liberated this house for Ms. Wilson and her family."

Bank of America officials don't own the home yet. The current owner, whose last known address was in Verona, couldn't be located on Monday. Law enforcement officials said that they really can't get involved unless the owner files a trespassing complaint.

The group is encouraging other homeless individuals to follow their lead and they say they will continue to look for property here in the Madison area to find homes for those who don't have one.