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Illegal eviction/disabled person

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Illegal eviction/disabled person

Postby <e> » Tue Mar 26, 2002 9:01 pm

A lengthy background: Someone from the St. Vincent de Paul Society at my local church, when I needed a new place to live and a place to store my belongings in July 2000, offered this: I was the night guardian for an elderly disabled (deaf, able to vocalize somewhat, ambulation problem, bowel incontinent) man who died March 7, 2002. I received a room in exchange for this. I was supposed to receive board and the garage was supposed to be available for an office. The board was not true and very nasty health aides who came during the day helped themselves to my refrigerated food. I was told I had nothing to say about them, their poor care of the elderly man, the filthy way they left the place. My duties became expanded by default, though never acknowledged, and the elderly man certainly turned night into day. He wanted snacks, he wanted to be helped to his TV in the living room, etc. It could be 2:30 in the morning. He had an adult protective services worker who tried to force me to be outside the house throughout the day. For a long while, I foolishly sat outside in all kinds of weather waiting for the library to open. I was the scapegoat for all the things the health aides did wrong. I had all of the responsibility and none of the authority. Even then, though, if I had to call an EMT, the elderly man was allowed to refuse being taken to the hospital. After foolishly signing my name once, I refused the next time or ever again, to sign the EMT's report.

The elderly man's Social Security Disability and pension were managed by Financial Services. He received no funds from the County or State. The St. Vincent de Paul person, who always claimed, "I'm in control here," though he'd show up 3 days late to every crisis, would provide no assistance to find another place to live or any of the other services this group tries to claim it does. He'd always say that if I didn't like it I could leave. I could find no place I could afford to live. I was so stressed and sleep-deprived, I would nod off in mid-sentence when speaking with someone. I developed some stress-related illnesses that I could not afford to have treated. I would try to avoid dealing with this man, but he'd go out of his way to confront and accuse and once pushed into my room. His former cop mentality persists. Ironically, even today, I was, yet again, referred to him by a government agency and the Church outreach. By the way, the Church got the house and he is the executor of the elderly man's will. Relatives exist though no one ever told the elderly man that they called. I was not permitted to do so. They always sent him holiday and birthday cards. So controlling and self-important is the St. Vincent de Paul man, that he insisted that the elderly man was Catholic and brought communion to him on Sundays, but never arranged for a substitute when unable to arrive himself. Well, I could tell within a day or two of being there that the elderly man was not Catholic. The St. Vincent de Paul man actually said at the elderly man's wake that he had just learned that the elderly man was not Catholic. He wouldn't want to admit his error. The elderly man was quite a manipulator, too, though. He'd have communion if it meant that his alleged "friend" would bring candy or some other childish treat. On other days, the visit meant he'd use the elderly man's phone to make a dozen calls. The person who worked as the elderly man's financial management case worker is a Catholic nun from the local parish. Sisters of Charity. Yeah. Right. She'd visit with his month's funds for the aide to buy food and supplies. The St. Vincent de Paul man who had never told the County I was going to live there, causing me many hassles and getting me treated as though I had illegally taken up residence, claimed that my food could be bought by the aide. Of course, he never told her that and certainly, the nun had never been told his lie, either. Or, she added to the fraud and certainly never provided for me. Some 5 weeks after I had moved in, some old cans and jars of donated food were brought to me by the St. Vincent de Paul man. Nothing to make a meal; too old to use. I returned it to the Church. He still tries to say that, see, I didn't want board.

I became 62 years old last October. My sister, who lives in a midwestern state, persuaded me to apply for early Social Security. I would then have an assured amount of monthly funds, rather than intermittent free-lance work income. The amount I receive is not very large, but the plan was to leave Long Island, perhaps go to her area, work in my profession to the amount of income allowed, and travel about the country on little vacations with my sister now and then.
A week after I was 62, I fell in the kitchen of the house and shattered my wrist. I was afraid to ask about householder's insurance from the St. Vincent de Paul person and had always been told by him that I had no right to contact Social Services about anything related to the elderly man or the house or I'd be out the door.
I arrived home on January 4, from 4 days in the hospital for dangerous and risky wrist surgery, having told the St. Vincent de Paul person I'd be away, but giving no reason, to find the police outside. I do not know if the old man had anyone stay with him. I was always told, but did not believe, that he could be left alone. He had had such nutrition failure that he had been hospitalized. The St. Vincent de Paul person had never wanted to hear from me how poorly this elderly man was cared for by health aides and the agency social services contracted with. Yet, it took him a year to arrange for a colonoscopy for the elderly man. At that time, the elderly man developed atrial fibrillation and remained hospitalized for several days. I was not told where he was hospitalized and called every place in the County to locate him. He was placed on 2 very strong heart medications. I was told it was all none of my business. The aide handed the medication to the elderly man every day, yet, by law, she was not to do this. It took the St. Vincent de Paul man a few days, this last time, to make enquiry about the elderly man, and then, despite him having an answering machine, he apparently gave the house phone number to the hospital social worker who spoke to me about the elderly man not wanting to go to a rehab facility. She also told me that the St. Vincent de Paul person stressed to her how there was no money for a nursing home. She asked me who owned the house. Though this elderly man loved his falling apart house, he really should have been in a nursing home where he could have had better care than a plate of french fries and some saltine crackers for lunch many days! And every one of the aides cheated him of time and never cleaned the house let alone his room. It was obvious that the St. Vincent de Paul person didn't want the Church to lose the house through state and county liens after the elderly man's allowed number of Medicare-paid nursing home days were up.

Though I had my arm heavily bandaged, I did clean up some of the trash, etc. left by aides. The filth was disgusting. The St. Vincent de Paul person had told me that the primary aide was his friend and good with the elderly man. He didn't care that her filth brought roaches. The dirt could be a foot deep. She was fawning and manipulative with the St. Vincent de Paul man, gave short shrift to the elderly man, and sat on the couch crocheting or watching TV for most of the day. Came late and left early. Fed herself from his money and ate all day long.

When the elderly man died, I was told by the St. Vincent de Paul man, who had just learned about my wrist he claimed, that he, yet again, had no knowledge of anyone who could help me find a place to live, nor help me pack, but the house was going to be sold and I would have to leave when a new owner was to move in. Three months perhaps in this seller's market. He made much of how the elderly man's sister-in-law would be by to take some things after I met her at the wake and told her, in front of neighbors, etc. of family items the elderly man had shown me. The St. Vincent de Paul man was not happy to be "forced" to let her have all the items. The garage is piled high with all the things he has squirreled away to give to others. He would have added some of the elderly man's things to it and gotten money for some of the elderly man's interesting dining room pieces. It all sounds noble, the giving things to the needy, but it's really an ego trip for him. The sister-in-law and I wondered where the elderly man's wristwatch disappeared to. She recalled collectible Lionel trains in the basement that, when asked, the St. Vincent de Paul man did say that he seems to remember seeing them. Yes, probably in his basement starting many years ago when the Church supposedly cleaned the house for the elderly man!

The real estate people manipulated my time, one a long time friend of the St. Vincent de Paul man who had claimed he did not know any real estate people, and phoned incessantly to bring a parade through the house at all hours. I was told that my door would be broken down (just a hook and eye to keep it from popping open) if I did not let potential buyers in to see it even if I were resting. My things would be put out. I'd be locked out. I have clinics, therapies, and consults every day of the week. It was a battle to get partial Medicaid. The room counted as in-kind income.

I am still harassed by the first hospital that botched up my arm, never placing the bone and damaging my thumb, and the one I ended up in (failing former County-owned facility; the County is nearly bankrupt too) for surgery and aftercare despite providing them with my Medicaid number. The poor quality of my care (negligent, abusive, and, in one case cruel in hospital, no homecare services provided, and indifferent and barbaric when several very long pins were removed from my bones with no anesthetic or analgesic of any kind in a filthy clinic) does not interest the State or County health departments. I cannot find quality care with my Medicaid card. I face, as it is, life with an already damaged left hand that is not bearing up to the great need to take on tasks that my right hand would formerly be doing. My right wrist and hand will have "significant permanent damage" and I will need assistive device to accomplish many tasks of daily living. I have yet to receive more than a small kitchen cutting board - formica with 2 nails sticking up and some suction cups on the bottom. Doesn't work well. $50. Medicaid will probably pay for nothing much. The social worker has yet to help apply for them.

Last Saturday, a psychopath was placed in the house for a week waiting for a place that she will rent April 1. The same realtor and the St. Vincent de Paul man helped her find the place. She is actively alcoholic, loaded all weekend. Allegedly, she joined AA on March 4. I was told that she can use anything she wants. She has taken my food and pilfered my belongings. Yet, she boasts that she works off the books and also receives Social Security Disability. She is a convicted shoplifter, violating her probation, has 3 open warrants, lost her son to foster care and wants him back. He won't even speak to her. Her daughter is with a family member. She doesn't see her nor speak to her and doesn't want her back. I know all this because the first night she talked loudly and incessantly on her cell phone to everyone she ever met when she wasn't harassing me. By 2:30 A. M., she took to flinging things out of drawers in the kitchen and dining room. By 3:30 she crashed, her TV blaring. She had turned the thermostat to 90, slopped food all over - it remains - and trashed every room. She left the front door wide open. A call to the St. Vincent de Paul man, since he had said I could not call the police in the event anything untoward happened, went unreturned - twice.

On Sunday, her so-called sponsor came from her room startling me. He claimed I must have been asleep and not heard him enter the house only moments before. Yeah. Right. She was actually wild and snarling by then. She fell over. The two of them harassed me. Another call went unanswered. I called the realtor and left a message that she had been quite wrong, the St. Vincent de Paul man would, indeed, place someone in the house with me who would be a danger to me.
She did not respond.

I spent the day trying to avoid them and, with enormous difficulty, trying to pack up some of my things. She came to my door and said she'd kick it in. I believed she would. She stumbled away and I raced to the living room phone. I have none in my room. I called the County police. They knew the house, of course, because of the elderly man and because of the St. Vincent de Paul man, a former cop. They were obnoxious to me and rather nice to her despite her admitting that she was drunk in violation of her probation. They even told her that she could continue to use my things and eat my food since we are "sharing." When I said that we both happen to live in the same house and we were not "sharing," the cop dismissed that and told me I had no rights in the matter. He had her say she'd leave me alone. She, of course, has not, even asking me if I have any sugar for her coffee! The kitchen is covered in her food trash and slovenliness. The realtor was appalled upon seeing it. I am not cleaning it up.

A nosy neighbor, upon seeing the police cars,
called the St. Vincent de Paul man who arrived the next morning and handed me a letter saying he was telling me to leave immediately, he was shutting all utilities, tossing my belongings, and changing the lock. He claims I have no rights since I pay no rent. I do not believe he can do this and must proceed through court. IS THIS SO? Our mutual friend is the District Attorney who told me that he does not think that I can be locked out without a legal eviction proceeding. But, I doubt he'll tell this man and this man is such a manipulative, hypocritical liar, he'll probably do it and get away with it. I would lose everything I own. I already have a heavy purse filled with therapy aids and medical papers and another tote bag withother items needed on a daily basis. They are heavy and carried on my left shoulder. I would not be able to salvage and carry away anything else.

The psychopath received no such letter although her "sponsor," a friend of the St. Vincent de Paul man, called on the house phone because she was on her cell phone by then and asked me to tell her he wanted to talk to her. I assume he had heard from the St. Vincent de Paul man.

I have been trying to move for a long time. There is no place to go. Even expensive places are hard to find. I cannot find storage space. Full up storage places for many miles from where I am. Moving costs a great deal of money. Getting my things to where I am was done by friends and they cannot do this kind of moving again. They have no room for me or my things. I cannot physically get packing supplies, work with them, etc. Friends are more than busy and time is spread thin.

I have been run ragged about housing authorities, false information, useless referrals, especially to places that I personally know from past experience do not do what they tell funding agencies they handle, and see myself sitting disabled in the street. Social services will expect me to spend my monthly social security check on a motel, won't store my things (Never have in the past, some 30 years ago, when I was very ill and in need of assistance. They lied to the State claiming they had done so.) The Town's Housing Authority claims that I have to ask for Adult Protective Services. Never helped when one was assigned those years ago. The one the elderly man had did nothing for him. She didn't know he had been hospitalized until he had been there 2 months.

My sister cannot travel here to help. She had
surgery of her own on the day I had surgery. She might be able to help toward reasonable housing she said. But then, I would lose my Medicaid because this would be considered income.
She cannot pay for medical care, too. When I asked the St. Vincent de Paul man for the namr of the householder's insurance, he refused to tell me. Then he claimed I didn't fall in the house. The District Attorney, our mutual friend and a person he admires, is who came for me that time and took me to the first hospital. He sat with me for nearly 7 hours and brought me home.
Ironically, that was to keep an ambulance from automatically taking me to the second hospital where I wound up anyway.

My cardiologist decided that my chest pains last Friday were from the enormous stress. After this weekend, I am sure my blood pressure is sky high, stroke level. Medication isn't working.

I can't think of anyone or place I haven't called. I rely on buses to get someplace so time is a problem. If I don't keep up with my medical appointments, I will be dropped from clinics and have not even a slight bit of movement in my hand which is now extremely painful since I have taken so long to type this left-handed while it is being held upright in front of me while encased in a dynamic metacarpalphylangeal flexion splint. My fingers have to be pulled down periodically until they turn blue. This is to break up heavy scar tissue so I can perhaps someday make a fist. My wrist cannot extend and may need further surgery.

Can someone please help? I am more than desperate.

<alsatianbluefires@yahoo.com>
<e>
 

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