Here’s an update from Jenifer Epelbaum, the Slope resident who has been advocating on behalf of Frances and Frank, a local couple recently evicted from a St. John’s Place apartment building and offered a $40,000 settlement (which in a special needs trust).  The woman is mentally disabled and the man is elderly.

Epelbaum’s note contains sad news. The couple, who were refused housing by the city’s "Eligibility Investigation Office" yesterday, now have nowhere to live. They spent the night riding the subway to stay out of the rain.

The elderly man and woman I wrote to you about were transported by car
today to the homeless intake facility in Manhattan. They were taken
there by the guardian for the woman (a social worker representing the
legal guardian to be precise). I was permitted to come along as well,
since the couple wanted me there for comfort and assistance.

The
staff at the intake facility were exceptionally kind and helpful.
However, after about an hour of waiting, the couple and the woman’s guardian were called into the "Homeless Diversion Unit."

There we met
with a very nice woman who asked to see the papers documenting the
homelessness. After reading the "Notice of Settlement" and other legal
papers the guardian provided, she told the couple and the guardian that
she did not believe the couple would be found eligible for shelter. She
pointed at the $40,000 settlement and asked why that money could not be
used now to shelter the woman. She also asked about the woman’s
government support checks (also apparently now controlled by the
guardian).

I
had to leave after about four and a half hours of waiting, before the
couple and the guardian were seen by the next person, whom I was told
would be from the "Eligibility Investigation Office."

During the
long wait, I asked the guardian’s representative why the couple was not being housed temporarily in a hotel with money from the settlement.
He replied that he appreciated my advocacy on their behalf, but he
preferred to wait and argue the case of their eligibility for a
homeless shelter. I was sorry I had to leave before the matter could be
resolved, but I had to return to Brooklyn to pick up my youngest child
from school.

I was busy this evening with another of my
children, and returned home late to very sad news. The couple did not
receive housing from the city. The woman (who is mentally impaired) I
am told stormed out in frustration after much waiting. The message I
received is that they are riding the subway tonight, for shelter from
the rain.

They
are out of their home, and Frances does not control her government
support checks nor the settlement, which was due to be paid into a
special needs trust (the $40,000 agreed to if she left her home by
12/15). Frank has tried valiantly to assist Frances in meeting the
terms of the settlement, since she stood to lose much of the settlement
if they failed to leave by 12/15.

Frank is 74. He is a native
New Yorker, born on Elizabeth Street in Manhattan. He is a kind and
intelligent person who is devoted to Frances. Frank served our country
as a member of our armed forces, and he performed his duties honorably
and bravely at that time. He serves honorably and bravely again, this
time assisting his companion Frances, who appears to have been forsaken
by everyone else, including our legal system.

Jennifer Epelbaum