It happens almost every day of the week on the front steps of the Monroe County Office Building: properties – most of them homes – go up for bid in foreclosure auctions.

That was the case again Thursday as lawyers, bankers and prospective buyers gathered for several auctions throughout the day.

For every person who loses a home there is someone like Dale Cooper trying to hang on.

“That's my home,” said Cooper of his Pershing Drive residence of four years. “My first one, and I don’t want to give it up.”

A broken marriage and mounting bills left Dale with no choice but to enter the federal Home Affordable Modification Program, which is supposed to help prevent foreclosures. Dale's lender went ahead with foreclosure proceedings anyway.

“It's frustrating,” he said. “No other words you can put, y'know?”

The Empire Justice Center helps people like Cooper, who feel like they are in over their heads with no way out.

“I can assure you the clients we see, the vast majority of them are diligently trying to work with their lender,” said Attorney Rebecca Case-Grammatico.

Case-Grammatico said some lenders aren't willing to work with struggling borrowers. She believes mortgage servicing companies don't have enough staff to handle a rapidly-growing foreclosure caseload. Thus, the current situation, which has led to calls from some for a foreclosure moratorium.

“We are not in favor of a moratorium,” said Case-Grammatico. “We don't think it's necessary.” But, she adds, if a moratorium is put in place, it must prevent foreclosure filings, until the robo-signing mess is figured out.

The nation's attorneys general, including New York's Andrew Cuomo, are just now looking into the mortgage mess, and whether lenders signed flawed paperwork to start the foreclosure process for tens of thousands of people.

Empire Justice Center senior attorney Ruhi Maker said she tried to warn industry officials and regulators for years, that this day was coming.

“Sometimes the pot needs to boil over, before people are like, ‘Oh my God, the pot's boiling over,'” said Maker.

Dale Cooper figures he has been to court 30 times over the past two years. There has been no resolution. He wants to pay his mortgage to keep his home and to catch up. It's not easy, but he is hopeful.

“I got to be,” he said. “I'm not giving up.”