Columbine Survivor Foreclosure: Occupy LA Steps In To Help

A Columbine survivor is now facing foreclosure in Southern California, according to MSNBC.

Richard Castaldo was shot eight times during the tragedy at Columbine High School nearly 13 years ago. Now the survivor of one of the worst school massacres on record is struggling to keep his home.

Castaldo explained that he purchased a condominium in Hollywood over five years ago while pursuing a career in the music industry. Although owning the condo seemed like a good idea at the time, the survivor is now facing a problem shared by millions of other Americans.

“I feel kind of stupid, honestly, because I should have known better,” Castaldo explained. “I kind of bought into the notion that of course the condo was going to go up in value, which, of course, obviously it hasn’t.”

The Columbine survivor has been behind on his mortgage payments since February. Although he’s looked for help from a number of different organizations, he said that most of them wanted money up front.

Enter Occupy Los Angeles, a group that now focuses its attention on helping folks keep their homes. According to NBC Los Angeles, Castaldo recently met with a lawyer in an attempt to save his condo. Given that the property is up for auction in December, the survivor doesn’t have much time left.

“I feel like they’re really the only group that doesn’t have an ulterior motive,” he explained. “It’s nerve racking for sure.”

Richard Castaldo said that, while life in Los Angeles hasn’t been the easiest over the past few years, it will remain his home for the time being. Castaldo stated that he currently has no plans to return to Colorado at any point in the near future.

For the time being, it would seem that the Columbine survivor will attempt to battle foreclosure with the help of Occupy LA.