James Olson has been searching for housing as his move-out date nears, but without much luck. He worries about the cost of putting his seven-person family in a hotel. In a worst-case scenario, he fears he will have to find other accommodations such as sleeping in a tent or a minivan as they struggle to find an apartment. Kristian Moravec / The Times Record

James Olson has just a few days left to pack up his apartment of nine years at Perryman Drive, a housing facility run by the Brunswick Housing Authority, and find a new place to live.

“I know they did everything legally, but it’s the fact that they’re doing it during the winter — it’s such a petty thing,” Olson said.

He’s reluctant to go, but his lease was terminated in August — a decision that he was unable to reverse, despite filing a grievance that was ultimately shot down in October — because he allowed a family member and his 5-year-old daughter to stay in his home for period of time that “far exceeded” guest stay limits at BHA housing, according to paperwork Olson provided.

Since then, Olson and his family have faced an uphill battle to secure housing. In expensive areas like the Midcoast, many apartments come with hefty upfront payments that far exceed what primarily fixed-income households have on hand. What’s worse is that Olson’s move-out date comes at the cusp of winter, Dec. 16, a time when the risk of homelessness is particularly daunting.

As temperatures drop, Olson has been scrambling to raise the funds necessary to move into a new apartment. One thing that has helped his family is the McKinney-Vento program, where eligible students within school districts can receive limited funding to help secure housing. Olson said that the program provided $750 in funding for each of his three kids in the school district — a total of $2,250. But to qualify for many of the housing options available on the market, Olson said his family would have to shell out $6,000 or more, as many apartments require first and last month’s rent and a security deposit.

With the disabilities in Olson’s household, including his own chronic illness, all adult family members are only able to scrape together about $2,000 a month combined. On top of this, rents are high in the area for an income of $2,000 a month. MaineHousing considers housing affordable if the tenant is not spending more than 30% of their income on housing expenses, but affordable housing for his family means they would need to find a rental rate of $600 a month, a rate similar to what they are currently paying with Brunswick Housing.

Olson has been active on Brunswick-area Facebook pages, asking for tents, apartment leads, donations and more. He even reached out to members of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee — a town board on which he’s a member —for help. He almost landed in a spot in Gardiner and was going through the preliminary process to get the apartment, until he said the rug was pulled out from under him and the application was denied for what he described as “unclear” reasons.

Now he’s back to square one, and plans to stay in a hotel for at least a month after his move-out date, which will cost them $4,000, twice the amount of most rents in the area.

“We don’t have the income to be paying that much a week,” he said. While they can swing it this next month with the financial assistance from the school district, it is not a long-term solution. He has set up a GoFundMe page to help raise additional funds for housing and other expenses. So far, it has raised over $2,000 for his family.

Karen Elwell said her lease has been terminated, and is facing a possible eviction for the first time. She said she worries what what her family will have to do if they move out. Kristian Moravec / The Times Record

Other Brunswick community members are facing similar issues. Karen Elwell, also a resident of Perryman Drive, said she has a hearing on Dec. 16 for a lease termination and has no idea what would come next if forced to leave.

She denies the allegations that led to the termination. She claimed another tenant falsely accused her and her partner of harassment and making threats but has been unable to secure legal help to fight the termination.

“This is the first time I’ve ever been in this situation,” Elwell said. “And I’m not sure even what I’m going to do if we have to be out in the middle of winter. I don’t have enough money to pay for a hotel room because they’re so expensive.”

Elwell is most concerned about her 1-year-old son, who she doesn’t want out in the cold. She put together a fundraiser page on GoFundMe to help. So far, it has only raised $50 toward her $3,500 goal.

At Brunswick Housing Authority, lease terminations are a case-by-case process. Lease violations don’t always result in lease terminations, and lease terminations don’t always end in evictions. Executive Director John Hodge estimates that there are 15-30 evictions a year, and a majority of these cases end up being mediated in court, where some tenants agree to move out on a specific date or others might reach an agreement to stay.

“As it relates to evictions, certainly it’s our last line of action we’ll take against any household,” Hodge said. “Clearly, we’re not here to try to unhouse people.”

Hodge said that the authority tries to work with tenants to address lease violations, such as missed rent payments or trash in the yard. Typically, the corrective procedure starts with a meeting with the tenant about the lease violation. If the issue persists — for instance, if rent is missed several times — action against tenants can escalate to more serious consequences. This process, of course, depends on the situation, Hodge said. More serious issues such as violence may be dealt with differently.

Hodge also notes that BHA is not a social service but a housing provider. While the authority can point tenants to resources that might help with rent or other issues, its ultimate goal is to provide housing for the hundreds of people seeking it. He said that there are about 350 people currently on the waiting list for housing at BHA.

“We understand that this is a difficult time of year, but we also have families on the waiting list that are in difficult situations. If a unit becomes available, we’re helping another family,” Hodge said. “It’s not easy to do this job.”

As for Olson, he worries about how he will pack his things, especially given his chronic heart condition that he was recently in the hospital for. While he is satisfied that they are able to stay at a hotel and not the street for the next month, the stress of finding what comes next still hangs over him.

“As last resort, people have to sleep in a tent,” Olson said, noting that campgrounds are also closed at this time of year. ” … Even today, it’s freezing out. So if we weren’t still in this apartment, what are we supposed to do with four kids?”