"This story is about Mary, who was evicted from her apartment last week."

"This had been going on for more than a year and a half, but she has no medical care and no psychiatric care," said Becka, who helped her. "She’s 69 years old."

Over a month ago, I received a call from Paula Hudson, Executive Director of Better Lives Rhode Island, about Mary [I changed her name for her privacy], a 65-year-old disabled woman facing eviction from her apartment. Mary’s story is not unique. Similar stories play out across Rhode Island with alarming frequency, becoming more, not less common. Though Mary ultimately found some level of safety and comfort, many people in her position do not.

Paula introduced me to Becka, a volunteer with Better Lives Rhode Island who helped Mary as much as she was able.

Becka: This story is about Mary, who was evicted from her apartment last month. This had been going on for more than a year and a half, but she has no medical care and no psychiatric care.

Mary had been robbed in Kennedy Plaza the previous year. Everything was taken from her - ID, bank card, her SNAP card, everything. So Mary’s neighbor and I went to the DMV. She lost the second ID. We went back to the DMV. We went to the bank and got her a new bank card. The SNAP benefits were a big project, but eventually she got her food stamps back. But after that, Mary must not have paid her rent again because Paula, a friend, and I paid her back rent so she wouldn’t face eviction.

I went to eviction court a year ago with Mary because she believed she didn’t have to pay her rent. Mary was granted a few months’ rent, which she didn’t need because she had rent money. She was safely housed with her SSI [Supplemental Security Income] check.

Because of her mental illness, Mary feels that five years ago, when a window fell out and hit her on the head, which may be true, that she’s a victim and that she doesn’t have to pay rent anymore. It’s called anosognosia in the psychiatric realm, which is having no insight into your mental health condition.

Last year, Mary was hit by a car. She had multiple injuries, including a brain injury, and she was kept at a hospital in Rhode Island. Mary had emergency surgery because she was in danger due to her brain situation. Also, she did not have another surgery she needed because she refused it. But she got better during her stay in the hospital.

The doctors at the hospital declared Mary incompetent. They looked for her family members and could not find any. They kept her in the hospital for over 70 days, and wanted a guardian and a payee assigned to her. I said that I could not be her guardian, but I’d be her payee.

Then, on a cold winter’s night last year, the hospital discharged her to her apartment - but she had to get there. They were going to send her in an Uber, but they thought she wouldn’t get in the car, so they didn’t order one. As far as I know, Mary took two buses to get home.

Mary’s apartment manager was unbelievable in trying to support her, but there was little she could do, and Mary faced eviction, with nowhere to go. I called the mental health advocate. I called the assistant director of behavioral health. They gave me other numbers to call. On three occasions, mental health workers went to her door to evaluate her so that she could be declared incapable of taking care of herself, but she wouldn’t let them in, so she never got evaluated. I called the Department of Elder Affairs. A friend and I filled out an elderly at-risk emergency report, and we never heard a word.

I called the mental health advocate again and said, “It’s happening.” She said, “This is awful.”

Last month, on the day of the eviction, I had someone call the rescue. There was a young Providence Police Officer there. He was like a saint. He helped Mary get her things, get her out of her apartment, and into the rescue. It took two hours to get her into the rescue.

Paula Hudson: Thank God that they were able to get her into the rescue.

Becka: Thank God that this officer was so sweet.

The manager went to the Nth to try to help her. I don’t know a manager like this. She’s lovely. Unbelievable. It was breaking her heart, but it was beyond her control.

We gave the manager some money toward the back rent, but she never cashed it. She said, “If I cash your check, it won’t pay her rent. I’m taking your money for nothing.” She gave me my check back this week.

Things had changed with Mary since the accident. Her neighbor said her house was awful. She had a cute house before the acident. She decorated. She moved stuff around. She cooked. But now it looked like a real mess. I don’t think Mary got over that brain injury.

When I went over, Mary had no food. She was constantly shopping and cooking, but now there was no food. I brought her Kentucky Fried Chicken and told her she was being evicted. She said, “You can believe what you want to believe.”

“No,” I said, “the sheriff’s coming Thursday.”

“I’m not leaving here,” said Mary.

“Mary,” I said the next night, “Tomorrow the sheriff is taking you out of here.” And she again said, “I’m not leaving here.”

So, the sheriff did come. Mary could have been on the street in the middle of winter, but I think it worked out.

Steve Ahlquist: That’s what bothered me when I heard this story. She was so close to being on the street.

Becka: And she has no resources. She had no recourse.

Steve Ahlquist: She can’t even summon available resources.

Paula Hudson: You’re right, Steve. You’re right. Mary wouldn’t know how to stay warm. She wouldn’t know how to get inside.

Becka: Someone promised me they would show her to a shelter bed on the day of the eviction, but...

Paula Hudson: She would never have stayed in a shelter, and if she acted up, she would have been thrown out.

Steve Ahlquist: So, where is Mary now?

Becka: She’s in a hospital, not the hospital that released her after her accident, but a geriatric psychiatry facility, which is a good place for her to be if you ask me. I saw Mary recently, and she said, “I like this better than the other hospital.” She has a very nice roommate, a sweet lady who got me a chair to sit down. Very sweet.

Anyway, they have two potential nursing homes for her. She will be sent to the room that is ready for her first. She has state Medicaid, but to go to a nursing home she needs LTSS [Long Term Services and Supports.]

This poor woman has no phone, TV, or radio. Mary told me, “I’m going to get a transistor radio.” I asked, “Do they even make them anymore?”

I worry about you writing about this, because someone might know her.

Steve Ahlquist: I understand. I want to keep her identity obscure enough that I won’t make her life more difficult, but this is an important story to tell. To me, this is a story about how people slip through the cracks in our system. I’ll call her Mary in the story, and alter minor details.

Becka: I think we saved her in a way - you don’t need to say that - but in a way, we saved her because we were so pesty.

Steve Ahlquist: Mary needed somebody to care for her, and you did that.

Paula Hudson: She needed an advocate.

Steve Ahlquist: She needed someone to do the work she couldn’t do.

Paula Hudson: The story I got when I called various agencies was “We just don’t have the authority to evaluate or assess her.” Then what good are you? What’s the point of your department? The only one who can evaluate and assess Mary is a doctor, so we needed to get her into the hospital. Can you help us get her to a doctor?

And they would say, “We could send somebody, but if she refuses help, there’s nothing we can do.”

Steve Ahlquist: People seem so afraid to do the things needed to help this woman get on with her life.

Becka: The week before her eviction, something was happening with her foot and leg. Mary’s leg was swollen. I wanted to take her to a walk-in clinic because she needed an ultrasound and an X-ray. But the clinic said they don’t do ultrasounds, so bring her to a hospital. I tried to take her, and she wouldn’t go. In a way, it was good that she had that medical situation because we got her into the rescue.

Paula Hudson: Mary’s not the only one out there.

Becka: She’s just one lady in a big realm.

Steve Ahlquist: And that population, people of her age, is growing.

Becka: The elderly are at risk. I mean, they’re always at risk, but this happens all the time. Someone gets discharged from the hospital, the ACI, or wherever they get discharged from and have nowhere to go. They arrive in Providence all the time in their hospital johnnies, with their arms in support pillows. They come right off the bus.

Paula Hudson: We’ve met with the Secretary of Health about that issue three times...

Becka: Paula called everybody she knew about Mary. Everyone felt bad, but nobody could do anything.

Paula Hudson: What do you mean you can’t do it? What is wrong with this system?

Becka: We haven’t changed the system. We’ve helped Mary, but we haven’t solved any problems...

Steve Ahlquist: Because we’re doing one special case at a time. There’s no systemic change.

Becka: Exactly.

Another person was being evicted from their housing, but the manager wasn’t so worried because that person had a big family network. That person would fall into their family network, not to the streets.

Mary has no one, other than her neighbor, who has been like a guardian angel.

Steve Ahlquist: Despite all her problems, she’s lucky to have avoided the worst.

Paula Hudson: Mary’s so lucky, but not everybody is. Her story is just a drop in the bucket.

Becka: But it’s a nice feeling to not have to worry so much about her. I think it’s a little bit of a miracle that she got in the rescue.