‘Nowhere to go’: HUD cuts loom at Worthington’s The Maples senior housing

WORTHINGTON — Marcia Estelle, who serves as president of the board of directors for The Maples senior living facility now that’s she’s retired from teaching, is used to planning bingo nights and community dinners, not perusing congressional budgets. But that has changed.

“We’re a healthy site — a very healthy site,” she said, despite the fact that now, with the possibility of Congress approving a 44% cut to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the subsidized community of 22 units and 23 residents may not be able to sustain itself much longer.

The town’s oldest resident, 97-year-old Barbara Porter, for example, might be out of a home after three years if these cuts take affect. She joined six other residents of the senior-living community on Monday afternoon in a meeting with state Sen. Paul Mark and state Rep. Lindsay Sabadosa, the town’s Democratic state legislators who came to The Maples to hear residents’ concerns.

At stake is a deficit of potentially $162,550 for the senior living community that has been in operation for more than 42 years, since opening in 1983.

Rents are calculated at a third of a resident’s income. What residents can’t pay is filled in with Section 8 vouchers from HUD. For The Maples, which runs an annual operating budget in the ballpark of $500,000, approximately $130,000 is collected from renters. And more than $300,000 comes from HUD.

Cutting this number almost in half, Estelle said, is not sustainable. The facility may be able to survive a year with emergency funds on hand.

The Maples’ parent company, Elderly Housing Management, has met with congressional lawmakers from Connecticut, where the company is based, providing letters from residents on how the cuts in the bill would affect them.

The potential HUD cuts that threaten The Maples are part of the congressional fiscal year 2026 budget, and not part of the recently approved “big beautiful bill” signed into law by President Donald Trump on July 4 as stated in a recent letter addressed to the community about the threats of cuts, Estelle said.

Though Mark and Sabadosa haven’t heard about other housing organizations in the area expressing worry about potential HUD cuts, the issue may become a national story if Congress decides to follow through with plans to reduce the budget for a department that was created in 1965 as part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s “Great Society” to address homelessness and promote home ownership.

“It is unacceptable that 80- and 90-year-olds are left worrying about whether they’ll have a place to live in the coming months,” said Sabadosa. “When the federal government fails to protect its most vulnerable citizens, it is abdicating a fundamental responsibility.”

She added that her reasons for coming to The Maples after hearing of their concerns were to “to provide residents with accurate information about the federal budget process, to listen and learn from their experiences, and to begin crafting an advocacy strategy, at both the state and federal levels.”

The 44% cut on the table would focus on slashing rental assistance and consolidating programs, according to the National Low Income Housing Association and Associated Press. The budget is currently in the House Appropriations subcommittee, and there may not be a definitive result until October.

This would significantly impact programs like Housing Choice Vouchers, public housing and homelessness assistance. The proposal also includes capping eligibility for some assistance at two years and reducing federal oversight of state-administered programs.

For The Maples, the future is unclear, said Estelle, adding that the community’s board is contemplating next steps. For example, whether money may be needed to cover legal fees for a lawsuit or other measures.

Residents’ reaction

Residents, who have a median age of about 80 years old, shared a similar message with Mark and Sabadosa — they have nowhere to go, and even if they did, The Maples is the only community they know.

Diane LaFleur said she was two weeks away from living in her van in 2012 after her husband died, but she was able to secure a place at The Maples.

“I grew up in Cummington. It’s where my family grew up. I raised my kids there,” she said about the town next to Worthington. “The majority of people I know have no place to go. And our kids, with today’s economy, can’t take us in.”

Speaking of the federal government, she said, “If they owe you something, it could take a lifetime. You owe them something, they want it back in a week.”

After her husband died, Aida Albert was living in a 10-room, “falling down farmhouse” that she couldn’t afford. So the breast cancer survivor came to The Maples eight years ago to have a roof over head, and for the convenience of not having to get her oil tank filled.

But beyond the conveniences, she said at her age she wouldn’t be able to gracefully integrate into a new chapter of her life if Maples were to close.

“I have a brother in Georgia and a brother in Texas, and neither are in the position to take me in,” she said.

Albert, who was born in New York City, said that after being in the region the majority of her life, almost 50 years, added that “if I moved to a strange town, do you know how hard it would be to meet people, if you don’t have children, a family, a job?”

Albert wasn’t the only one expressing the solidarity among The Maples residents, who told stories of administering each other’s eye drops, responding when a neighbor needs help, shared dinners, and other “neighborly” gestures.

But in addition to the neighborly support, The Maples is also strategically placed with ideal neighbors for a senior living facility — the Hilltown Community Health Center.

Just last week the town’s police chief, John Scobie, said it can take between 25 and 40 minutes for emergency personnel to reach the area. But Maples receives care in a matter of minutes from neighboring Hilltown Community Health Center.

“I was on the original board when we talked about doing this,” said Porter. “And the main thing was, we’re next door to the health center.”

And it’s not just the health center, but much more in the area.

“We’re next door to the general store. You could get anything there. We could walk to the library, and of course we have a church in town,” said Porter.

But for her the ultimate convenience is proximity to her family.

“I am really privileged, I really am,” said the 97 year old. “I have three sons that live in this community, and when I need something, I just press a button on my phone. I don’t even have to dial the phone anymore.”

Samuel Gelinas can be reached at sgelinas@gazettenet.com.