8/14/14 - Although the deadline to raise the needed funds to help a disabled Korean War-era Veteran stay in his home is coming down to the wire, those leading the local cause say theyâre starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Thereâs less than a month and a half to go to raise the funds needed to help save 82-year-old Ross Dahlbergâs Hamburg Township home. Heâs wheelchair bound and in and out of the hospital frequently. Dahlberg fell behind on his mortgage payments after several surgeries but had applied for assistance through a state program called StepForward. Despite being conditionally approved, his home was foreclosed upon and sold at a sheriff sale for $132,000. The home is currently in a redemption period and the Livingston County Department of Veterans Services has been leading community fundraising efforts to save it, raising nearly $13,000 to date. Veterans Benefits Counselor Josh Parish sent out an email update to supporters saying several things are happening behind the scenes right now but heâs confident that when this is all said and done, Dahlberg will be able to stay in his home. Parish met with the director of the Step Forward program this week to gain more insight about what happened after Dahlberg submitted for assistance. He says the director will be appointing someone to go back over Dahlbergâs application and re-submit it. Step Forward also stated that there may be a possibility it could allocate up to $30,000 towards the mortgage if the bank is willing to modify. Parish says that still leaves a large amount of money to raise to buy back the home but itâs a step in the right direction for Ross.(JM)
↧