SWAMPSCOTT — State Sen. Brendan Crighton (D-Lynn) joined members of the Swampscott Housing Authority on Monday morning to meet with residents to hear about updates and improvements needed in the units.
The Housing Authority has 121 residents, with 84 of those being elderly and the rest families.
Executive Director of the Housing Authority Irma Chez said the units at the Housing Authority’s properties — located on Burrill Street, Doherty Circle and Cherry Street — are in need of numerous repairs, including new windows, kitchen cabinets, doors, siding, floors and walls.
The Housing Authority invited Crighton to tour some of the units to see the condition of the properties, in hopes of Crighton securing some funding to contribute to repairs.
“We certainly need help and that’s why we decided to invite you, so you could see for yourself what’s needed and what the residents need in their units,” Chez said.
With a limited budget, Chez said she has been buying a lot of stoves lately because the original ones in the units are so old, but the brand no longer exists so they can’t find the parts to fix them anywhere. Between purchasing new stoves and refrigerators, Chez said there’s only so much the Housing Authority can do.
“Public housing needs to be talked about a lot more,” Crighton said. “We try to do that as often as we can. This is long overdue to come to Swampscott.”
Resident Connie Zimmerman said the units need more storage options, as she’s made a closet by hanging curtains up in front of a wall in her bedroom, and updated appliances.
In the kitchen of the units on Doherty Circle, the stove vents are browned and rusted, the kitchen cabinets are crooked or broken, some of the refrigerators are old and don’t work well, and doors are rusted and falling off the track.
“There’s a lot of things that need to be addressed,” Zimmerman said. “We really need your help.”
Doherty Circle units just received new lighting, heat and air conditioning units, but there is still much more that needs repairing.
The properties on Cherry Street provide a home for 36 families, but the housing itself needs new siding and interior updates.
Longtime resident Nancy Melendez raised her family in her home on Cherry Street, but has been dealing with leaking faucets, leaks in the ceiling from the upstairs bathroom, pieces of the walls peeling off, and old floors.
“I appreciate that I have a place to live… We keep it clean, but there’s only so much we can do for all the stuff that needs to be repaired,” Melendez said.
The properties are also in need of new windows and doors, as they are old and let in air, which residents said make the units get really cold in the winter.
Meeting with residents and seeing firsthand what kind of support they need is important, Crighton said.
“It’s important to get on the ground and meet the people living here,” Crighton said. “We’re here to help them.”
The Housing Authority has made multiple improvements and changes over the past few years, fixing the roofs at Cherry Street and adding a resident coordinator.
Chairman of the Housing Authority Richard Callahan said having the position of a resident coordinator, which is funded by a federal grant that the Housing Authority applied for, has allowed for more personal interactions between the residents.
The residents have been able to participate in outdoor movie nights, a Halloween party, cookouts and have Christmas celebrations coming up thanks to the new position.
The residents at the Housing Authority aren’t just tenants, Chez said, but are friends and help each other out.
One of the residents who recently graduated college had other residents and Housing Authority members assist her with creating her resume, leading to her getting a job at Whole Foods.
“We genuinely care so much for our residents here, so we want to be able to do whatever we can to help them,” Chez said. “This is their home so we want it to feel like that.”
