A recent letter to the editor in the Kennebunk Post (“Reality check in Kennebunk,” July 14) hit home for me. I have been a resident of Kennebunk since 2001. I am raising two children here, one in college and the other in high school. But I can’t afford to live in Kennebunk.

As of July 31, I will essentially be homeless. The new owner of my apartment wants to gut the old home to create new units and charge twice as much. After working at Kennebunk High School from 2012-2021, my annual salary as a fifth-year special education teacher was roughly $53,000. I recently completed an EMT course. Are there full-time positions for EMTs in Kennebunk with health insurance benefits?

Rents of $1,600 for a one bed/one bath in Kennebunk exceed 35 percent of a teacher or EMT’s income, and won’t provide for my children. Who can afford to buy a home priced at $500,000 with a salary of $53,000? Or in my current job as an emergency room tech?

If the Kennebunk community is concerned about the lack of first responders to provide health and safety services, put the $500,000 spent on a house in Kennebunk to good use by voting to provide wages, benefits and housing that people serving the community can afford, as well as substantial funding to the police department, fire rescue and RSU21 school district to run those departments to the standard that Kennebunk residents want and deserve.

Meghan Rioux
Kennebunk

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