SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — A sewage leak forced an 89-year-old veteran out of his home sooner than he expected.
His landlord and friend is now raising money to try to get him a new place.
"The sewage flood had come over to the door here and John had put down a towel blocking it," explained Tony Romane as he walked through the basement of his home.
It's a situation that no one wants to have on their hands.
For Tony, that all started with a clogged toilet.
"As that continued to flow out the tub started to back up as well and it got to the point where that was flooding out," said Romane.
He said the price tag on the damage so far is about $29,000, but the homeowner expects that number to grow.
The worst part of the situation is that it left his longtime friend, John facing homelessness.
The 89-year-old veteran is now staying in a motel.
“There’s just nothing available around here. No apartments [or] rooms. [There's] nothing," said John Clark.
It's the first time he's had to worry about finding a place to live in decades.
"He was 16 when I first met him," recalled Clark.
Romane has been providing housing for john for the past 24 years.
It's his way of giving back to the man who helped him achieve his goal of becoming a pilot.
"With only 100 hours of pilot time, he said, 'tony would it help if we bought an airplane and of course, I said, 'that would absolutely help," recalled Romane.
Before the flood, Tony was already looking for another housing situation for john because he was going to renovate the house the two lived in.
The two called several places for help including the VA.
They said they've learned waitlists for different programs are several years long.
"Being 89, I don't think I'm going to make 10 years," said Clark.
There is now a GoFundMe fundraiser to help house john for a few more years.
"To supplement his very very modest social security of $1,308 a month," said Romane.
