A Manager Helps a Tenant in Need

Sylvia

Gorham, ME

A 78-year-old resident recovering from heart surgery faced overwhelming odds until her apartment manager reached out.

Keeping responsible people in their homes is our passion, now more than ever. A few weeks ago, an article was published about us in Multi-Family Executive by Mary Salmonsen. Maddie Corcoran at Avesta Housing read it and set up a call to get more information.

She said she had a 78-year-old resident in one of their buildings in Portland, Maine who was in desperate need of help. Sylvia’s husband had left on Thanksgiving night. His was the bulk of their income.

With their HUD-housing rent at $752 a month, she applied for recertification. For those of you who don’t know, HUD uses a 30% (of gross income) calculation to determine rent and they rightfully reduced her rent to $203 but unfortunately, made it effective January 1st! With her SSI benefits less than $750, There was absolutely no way she was ever going to be able to pay December’s rent.

We were able to call Sylvia before the first nor’easter storm hit the East Coast and tell her that we were taking care of the past due amount. She broke down in tears saying that she hadn’t even felt like getting dressed some mornings because she was so overwhelmed by what had happened to her. She was still recovering from recent heart surgery on top of everything.

Because of the generous donations we’ve received, Sylvia gets to stay in her apartment and can cover her rent on her own moving forward. We are grateful for the ability to be able to help her and so many more to come!