July 11, 2014

Veteran needs help to get home back

Veteran needs help to get home back
Fundraising effort seeks $132,000 for Hamburg resident




Howell, Michigan: -- A Livingston County Veterans Affairs employee hopes others will step up to help an 82-year-old Hamburg Township veteran on the brink of being homeless.

Joshua Parish, a veterans benefits counselor, launched a crowdfunding campaign June 25 and plans to host fundraisers to try and raise $132,008 for Ross Dahlberg to reclaim his home before a six-month redemption period expires Sept. 26.

Owing about $4,000 in mortgage payments, the Korean War-era veteran lost his home of 17 years at a sheriff’s auction in March while in the hospital recovering from triple-bypass surgery. Parish said he believes Dahlberg was overlooked by a state system when he applied for financial assistance.

“It’s not just this veteran in this county that it’s happening to, it’s everywhere,” Parish said.

Dahlberg, who uses a wheelchair due to the effects of diabetes, said he applied for assistance through the StepForward program after he fell behind on mortgage payments after several surgeries and a divorce.

Parish said he had been conditionally approved through the program and was told his house would not be foreclosed upon while the program processed his application. Yet, Dahlberg received a letter from the program weeks later informing him that his application had been declined due to a clerical error, Parish said.

“Either something fell through the cracks, or someone didn’t do their job,” said Parish, who is acting as a representative for Dahlberg while he recovers from a bacterial infection at a Howell rehabilitation facility.

“It’s a nightmare,” said Dahlberg, who said his faith is helping him through his situation. “It’s like I’m in a horror chamber.”




More news story:
http://www.livingstondaily.com/article/20140711/NEWS01/307110012/Veteran-needs-help-to-get-home-back

GoFundme site:
http://www.gofundme.com/KoreanWarVeteran

July 7, 2014

Fundraising campaign launched to help veteran keep his home

Fundraising campaign launched to help veteran keep his home
by By Lizzy Alfs | lizzyalfs@mlive.com


Joshua Parish of the Livingston County Department of Veterans Affairs has a goal: to help a veteran keep his Pinckney home after it was sold at a sheriff auction in March.

Parish launched a crowdfunding campaign on June 25 and plans to host fundraisers to try to raise $132,000 in order for Ross Dahlberg to reclaim his home before a six-month redemption period expires on Sept. 26.

“The veteran is currently wheelchair bound and he suffers from several medical ailments that would make moving him to a new location very difficult,” Parish said.

Parish said a series of unfortunate events led to Dahlberg’s current situation: a Korean War-era veteran, Dahlberg was hospitalized for health issues and fell behind on his mortgage.

Owing about $4,000, Dahlberg applied for the Step Forward Michigan program, which allows residents who meet a minimum set of qualifications apply for up to $30,000 in past due property tax or mortgage payment relief.

Parish said Dahlberg was initially approved for the program, but his application was later denied due to a clerical error.

Dahlberg contacted Parish, who works as a veterans benefits counselor in Livingston County, and Parish drafted an emergency motion for a temporary restraining order in court to save Dahlberg’s house from going to a sheriff's auction while Parish tried to obtain the $4,000 to pay the past due mortgage.

The motion was denied and Dahlberg’s home sold to Day Glo LLC for $132,000 in March.

Dahlberg is living in his home until a six-month redemption period expires in September.

“The redemption period will expire, and if we cannot raise the funds to keep him in his home, the company that purchased his home is going to evict him or remove him from the home,” Parish said.

“The vet is adamant about staying in the home. He’s owned that home for 20-plus years. In his own words, ‘I want to die there,’” Parish continued.


More:
http://www.mlive.com/business/ann-arbor/index.ssf/2014/07/fundraising_campaign_launched.html

I know the veterans office- this is legit.

here is the link to the gofundme donation site:
http://www.gofundme.com/koreanwarveteran