Walter Fauntroy, who served as the first congressional delegate for the District of Columbia, is facing foreclosure of his Washington home.

Fauntroy and his wife Dorothy are receiving assistance from a group of ministers to raise $700,000 to help pay for the costs of mortgage liens, penalties and interests, WRC-TV in Washington reported.

Dorothy Fauntroy almost lost the home after Fauntroy disappeared and left for Africa and the Middle East.

Walter Fauntroy, 84, was arrested last year after spending years abroad as a fugitive. Among the charges he faced were a failure to appear for fraud after allegations he passed a bad check.

The National Congress of Black Women is handling donations.

In the 1960s, Fauntroy gained fame as a civil rights advocate and worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr.