Logan Sung, an accountant for EJL Management, which operates Cleveland Place and almost a dozen other Section 8 housing complexes around the region, says company employees have spent the past month looking at classified advertisements in The Sentinel and other newspapers to see what other apartments might be available and which landlords would be willing to take vouchers. Short-term, the decision by Cleveland Place's owner, Emile J. Legere, to accept Section 8 vouchers will allow Leigh Bemis and Mary Manwaring and Clair Oursler to stay in their homes. Legere's tenants are grateful. Many Section 8 tenants were in their mid-50s when they moved in 20 years ago, says Susan L. Shaw, a gerontologist and director of The Woodward, a retirement home in Keene. Now they're in their mid-70s or older, and depend on services available in buildings such as Cleveland Place.
Many residents are visibly in poor health.
Most depend on walkers or canes, and visitors must speak loudly and carefully if they hope to be understood. They're really not able to live independently. But some residents may not have a choice. If a landlord opts out of Section 8, the tenants will have to shop for apartments, vouchers in hand, and hope for the best. Some tenants are appealing to anyone who will listen, hoping that public pressure and attention can change things before it's too late.