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able to get this going right away as he was in temporary housing at the time and then became homeless for seven months after that . In addition , he has major health issues and has not been able to work full-time for several years . With a limited monthly income of $ 894 , John has struggled to cover living expenses . This caused him to rely heavily on the use of credit cards to pay for rent , food , necessities and other purchases . He incurred over $ 64,000 in credit card debt . It was extremely unlikely that he would ever be able to pay off this debt as his living expenses still exceeded his income . He just kept making the charges knowing that we would not be able to make the payments but felt like he had no other option . John soon started getting more letters and phone calls from collection agencies .
After seeing that his situation was only worsening , John decided to contact us again in May 2021 . He informed us that he was now ready to move forward with the bankruptcy . We put him in touch with a volunteer attorney who then helped John gather the information and documents necessary to prepare the bankruptcy forms . The volunteer attorney also provided instructions for filing the forms , completing the two required online credit counseling courses and for how to prepare for the 341 meeting . After successfully completing all these steps , John later received a full discharge of his debts . He is no longer receiving calls from collection agencies . He can finally focus on getting his life and finances back on track .” Legal Access Alameda 2022 Grant Report .
• “ After hearing one of our presentations on financial exploitation and relationship scams , our client Mary sought out resources we provided , including our Facebook live video relationship scams . Mary found the resource so helpful , she brought it back to her women ’ s group and showed it to them to encourage safe practices while online dating . Mary is one example of an older adult who helped us further the reach of this program and she is an agent for positive change in her community .” Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service 3 / 11 / 22 Grant Report .
If you are aware of a worthy program that is not a current grant recipient , please encourage them to submit an application on or before June 1 . Thank you again for your generosity and for enabling us to be able to make a difference in so many lives .
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