Emotions run high as tenants seek new relocation

The elderly and handicapped residents of the St. Croix Apartments in Calais are undergoing a difficult relocation process as a result of the building losing its subsidized housing contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on March 1. While some of the approximately 30 low-income residents have found a place to go, most of those locations are well outside of town, and others still aren't certain where they will be able to move. One thing that remains constant for each of the residents is the stress of the situation.
"It hits me at night," Pam Fader says. "I cry myself to sleep sometimes. I'm leaving the most important thing to me." Fader is moving to Lincoln on March 31, putting considerable distance between herself and the rest of her family, with whom she is accustomed to spending time on a daily basis. "I sing my grandchildren lullabies that my mother sang to me -- I never knew the words, but they like it. My three‑year-old grandson is obsessed with the planets and the moon. I'm going to miss that, watching them do things they've never done before." Fader isn't able to move in with her family because their restrooms are located upstairs, which would be a physical impossibility for her. "You sit in bed, you watch TV, but you're not watching TV -- you're thinking. And everything you're thinking leads to despair," she says of the situation.
Unlike Fader, some residents haven't yet found a place to live. "I'm Section 8, and I'm going to be homeless," a resident named Donny relayed. "I have a stack of medical papers up the yin‑yang." Donny requires handicap-accessible living quarters, and he would prefer to live in a place -- like the St. Croix Apartments -- that offers nearby access to services such as a pharmacy. Homeless for three years prior to moving into the St. Croix Apartments, Donny is one resident who has flourished in its supportive community environment.
"Half of the people that have found a place to move don't want to go," Phyllis Stevens says. Stevens herself is considering moving to Brewer, effectively separating her from the rest of her family. Her nephew, Joe, and his wife, Gia -- themselves former residents -- have found a home in Calais to rent, enabling their two sons to continue their schooling in the Calais system.
"I never thought I would be in this situation," Stevens says. "I worked three jobs while raising my kids and never needed any assistance. But you can't help it when you get sick, and then you need help." Stevens was stricken with cancer twice and needed brain surgery and a mastectomy to remove the malignant tumors. The community of the St. Croix Apartments has been a boon for her. "I feel like this whole place is my family. Some I can do without, but most I want to be with."
Stevens is among the residents who has consistently beautified the building, planting flowers, replacing floor tiles and painting the interior and exterior in an effort to help it pass inspection with HUD. The federal agency had ended its contract with the landlord effective March 1 because of his failure to maintain the building in a decent, safe and sanitary condition. Stevens won't be planting flowers in the pots this year, a point she makes with helpless resignation.
"There's a whole array of emotions," Stevens says. "Some people are sad. Me, I just feel nothing now -- except maybe angry."
Compounding the difficulties faced by residents during the process is the lack of clarity regarding what reimbursements are available and what paperwork is necessary for each step. While the residents did meet with a large relocation team in early March, only a single person was left to handle their concerns the following week. That person -- Michael Grant -- is a trainee, and this is his first assignment. "They should have left more people," Stevens says.
The $1,150 that residents of a single‑bedroom apartment will receive is not enough to cover the moving‑related expenses of most residents. Stevens explains that in her case she needs to have her car fixed at a cost of $900 to enable it to pass inspection. She contacted the owner of the St. Croix Apartments, Aaron Gleich, to request her security deposit back but received no response.
"We live from one check to the next," Fader agrees. "We're not spring chickens. With our health problems -- the tension of this has been horrible."