Occupy LA Offers Aid to Columbine Shooting Survivor Facing a Fight to Save his Home from Foreclosure

Los Angeles, CA- Richard Costaldo was one of the lucky survivors of the Columbine High Shooting in 1999 which shocked the nation. Though he was shot eight times and was paralyzed he dealt with his injuries and triumphed. Now he is enmeshed in another fight; this time he is trying to save his home from foreclosure with the help of Occupy LA.

Costaldo wanted to jump start his musical career by moving to the Los Angeles area where he bought his condo before the real-estate collapse. He believed that the value of his property would go up, but that was not the case. Earlier this year Costaldo, who appeared in Michael Moore’s documentary “Bowling for Columbine”, fell behind on his mortgage and next moth the bank plans to auction off his home.

“I felt like they’re really the only group that doesn’t have an ulterior motive,” Costaldo said, according to The Huffington Post. After he tried to negotiate with his lender and reached out to other organizations for help but he didn’t have the money to pay them up front so he turned to Occupy LA.

Though the Occupy movement has been out of the spotlight for many months, they have been effective in helping numerous homeowners stop foreclosure. Mainly by generating publicity that subsequently forces a lender to work with the troubled property owner. Occupy Our Homes; an offshoot of the original Occupy movement has helped several people over the summer avoid foreclosure.

If Occupy cannot help a homeowner, there are other options a struggling person can explore. Many states, including California offer grants as part of the National Mortgage settlement, so that an individual can hire a foreclosure attorney to work with their lenders. But the homeowner has to act quickly and seek help as soon as they receive a default notice.