It appears the efforts of a local grassroots housing organization are paying off.

"I am so happy today, only God knows," Cathy Griffin-Lennon told YNN.

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Instead, they gathered on her Ravenwood Avenue front lawn to celebrate.

"Cathy's finally going to have her day in court and it's very vindicating," Ryan Acuff of Take Back the Land Rochester said.

Acuff and others have been protesting Griffin-Lennon’s foreclosure and eviction for nearly a year.

Several members spent hours in the law library helping her prepare an affidavit New York State Supreme Court Judge Anne Marie Taddeo found merit in.

Judge Taddeo signed an order to show cause, effectively forcing both sides, Griffin-Lennon and her lender, Countrywide Home Loans Servicing, to appear in court August 30 to state their case.

Countrywide Home Loans Servicing has been acquired by Bank of America.

The attorney representing the lender, Steven J. Baum, P.C., is currently being investigated by the New York Attorney General.

Baum handles more than 40-percent of foreclosure filings statewide on behalf of the nation's biggest mortgage lenders. He did not return calls for comment.

"This is just one case, and that's why it's important that we set a precedent in this case, that people can stand up fight back and win," said Acuff, "and this would hopefully, change the momentum not only locally, but across the country.”

"Right now, I'm going to focus on trying to get a lawyer that will be stand with me," Griffin-Lennon said.

She is one of more than 5,000 Monroe County residents in the process of foreclosure; one of more than 80,000 statewide according to Empire Justice.

Empire Justice attorney Rebecca Case-Grammatico said a recent veto by the governor will make it more difficult for people like Griffin-Lennon to get foreclosure counseling and legal representation.

"As of December 31st, one of the largest sources of income flow for agencies across the state has been completely eliminated. We're hopeful that something will come out and that the governor will put something into budget for next year, but right now many of the programs are struggling to figure out how to represent folks and the numbers are only increasing in terms of people who need assistance," Case-Grammatico said.

Case-Grammatico said some of the abuses Griffin-Lennon is alleging, like robo-signing, robo-calling, the inability to get a person on the phone to answer questions and work out a payment plan, or simply not getting information at all, are not surprising.

"People who are doing everything that they are supposed to do to apply for a modification to get the help that they are entitled to by federal requirements, they're not getting through. And the servicers are putting brick walls and they're not allowing folks to stay in their homes," Case-Grammatico said.

She would not comment on whether she believes lenders and servicers acted illegally in Griffin-Lennon’s case, but she said her story and supporters have put a face on a nationwide crisis that's far from over.

"People don't want to see vacant houses in their neighborhood. It attracts crime, it attracts vandalism and it really doesn't benefit anybody, at least locally," said Acuff.