LYNN – Kristina Kennett’s 39th birthday present from Centerboard – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit which “provides holistic support to adults and youth in Greater Lynn and on the North Shore facing unimaginable difficulties such as housing insecurity” – was a termination in her emergency assistance (EA) shelter care.
Kennett was asked to leave her housing situation this past Sunday or otherwise face consequences, such as eviction and the inability to utilize any EA shelter resources for one year. This comes after Kennett has received two 90-day extensions and an additional 30-day hardship waiver, which Centerboard has told Kennett is all it’s able to provide her with.
“I’ve gotten every extension that they say I’m allowed. There’s nothing more I can do, and they’re kicking me out of the only place that I have and telling me that there’s no vouchers. The fact that it’s my birthday. My daughter knows it’s my birthday. She’s celebrating, and I’m over here depressed. My mental state is just beyond wrecked. I don’t even know how I function,” Kennett said candidly.
The vouchers Kennett mentioned are what certain people, due to a randomized lottery system, receive in order to find low-cost shelter following the termination of EA shelter. Kennett added that the lack of vouchers may be a trickle down effect of the federal government’s recent actions, such as the firing of federal employees within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), which adds another layer of difficulty for states to access federal dollars to assist with the homelessness crisis.
Regardless of the reasoning behind there being fewer resources available to Kennett, she is sharing her frustrations because she feels the system is “failing” her.
“My first daughter (who is now 20) got taken from me (in 2011) because of this type of situation. I went to DTA (Department of Transitional Assistance). I sat there. I told them I had nowhere to go. They told me they couldn’t place me at that time. The lady gave me money out of her pocket and told me to go back to where I came from and come back the next morning (and) they would help me,” Kennett said. “I had nowhere to go that night.
“I used to be committed to DYS (Department of Youth Services) when I was younger, so I had to ask my old caseworkers if they could help. Instead, DCF (Department of Children and Families) was called, and DCF took my child. And then I had to fight for custody of my child and lost because I didn’t get placed back then.”
She continued, “Now I feel like, here we go again. I’m placed, but I’m being kicked out… I know DCF helps people with housing sometimes, but they’re like, ‘No, I can’t.’ Nobody can help me, but the minute that I’m on the street, and I have nowhere to go, they’re gonna come take my kid from me because I’m sleeping on a park bench with my kid because I don’t have friends over here that I could stay with. My family’s in Florida, and even in Florida it’s crowded.”
Centerboard declined to comment and deferred to the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), which is unable to comment on individual cases but did provide policy information and general statements.
“The Healey-Driscoll Administration inherited a family shelter system that was experiencing a surge in demand and was not equipped to handle it. Governor Healey has implemented reforms to reduce caseloads and taxpayer costs, including implementing a length of stay limit,” EOHLC representatives wrote. “This length of stay policy enables EOHLC to help stabilize families for six months so that they can build self-sufficiency and be rehoused into more permanent homes on their own lease, while also ensuring greater fiscal and operational sustainability for the state.
“This length of stay time limit is in line with shelter standards and has helped more families to be rehoused than ever before. All of our providers work extremely hard to rehouse families. Housing shortages can create these challenging outcomes for families. In addition to supporting shelters, EOHLC and the Administration are spurring affordable housing production all over the state to help address the root cause of these issues when it comes to affordability.”
Despite government jargon which states that the length of stay limits are beneficial for families, Kennett’s family simply isn’t one of them. Her daughter, 7-year-old Grace Sosa-Kennett, is now staying with her father due to Kennett’s homelessness, and Kennett is back on the streets fearing an upcoming custody battle with Grace’s father.
“I feel like I’m always getting hit with something, and that’s not right, not fair. I’m a good person. I help everybody. Like when I have a car, if people need rides, (I give them rides). If I’ve got food stamps or I’m cooking dinner, I feed everybody. I was working two jobs, taking care of my kids, going to school and graduated with my CNA on May 10,” Kennett said.
She continued, “I’m running into brick walls… I’m not getting anything, getting kicked to the street, and then I’m gonna lose custody of another child… This is what you ask of Americans, right? To work and do all this, and I was doing all that – injured, at that – and I’m still not getting no help.”
