Maine's eviction prevention program has run out of funding — when advocates say it's needed most
Published by Maine Public | by Nicole Ogrysko
In Terry Wain's Caribou apartment, there's just enough room for a recliner, a TV and a queen-sized bed beyond the front door. A coat closet serves as storage for him and his wife. The bedroom upstairs is for his teenage son.
"Bedroom-living room combo, open concept," he said, laughing.
The place is small, Wain said, but they're making it work. Wain is disabled and he and his wife rely on federal disability benefits to pay their rent, about $875 a month.
"We were doing fine, up until this all happened to me," he said.
Last fall, Wain said he was home one night watching TV when suddenly, he couldn't breathe. He was taken to the local hospital and then LifeFlighted to Bangor. He eventually returned home, but then it happened again. He was LifeFlighted a second time, underwent triple bypass surgery and spent about a month recovering in the hospital.
His family drove the 170 miles to visit him and sometimes stayed in a nearby motel. He was covered by MaineCare, but it strained the family emotionally and financially.
"It took everything I had, everything everybody had," he said. "So I got behind in my rent."
