For the first time in weeks, Trudy Charlton slept through the night.
There was no tossing and turning, no worrying about if she’ll have a place to sleep.
“Is that what real sleep feels like?” she asked, a day after learning she’d be able to stay in her home for a while longer.
Charlton, 76, had been looking desperately for someone to live with since her former roommate announced she was leaving days before the lease needed to be signed. Her landlord said if she didn’t find a way to pay for the other half of the rent, Charlton would have to move out by Sept. 1.
Finding a roommate, and finding a place she could afford proved to be a major obstacle.
Sarah Palermo, the communications manager for New Hampshire Legal Assistance, said it isn’t uncommon to see senior Granite Staters in Charlton’s situation.
“The New Hampshire housing marketplace is affected by a number of factors, none of which work on behalf of people like Trudy,” she said.
Palermo said there are few incentives for developers to rent their units below the market rate, which creates year-long waitlists for resources that help seniors, as Charlton experienced.
As the Sept. 1 deadline approached and Charlton’s efforts to find a roommate failed, she feared she might end up homeless. However, in response to a story published in the Sunday Monitor, community members banded together to keep Charlton in her apartment.
Molly McCrum, a high school Spanish teacher at Pembroke Academy, decided she was going to take action. The photos of Charlton in the original article reminded her of her grandmothers.
“I couldn’t not do anything,” McCrum said.
She started a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the rent. McCrum thought the page would generate a couple thousand dollars at most – enough to get Charlton through the fall in her apartment. Within a day, there were 119 donations and almost $7,000.
With this money, even if Charlton had to pay both halves of the rent, $1,000, she can afford 7 months.
Charlton isn’t completely reassured – until the money is physically in her bank account, she can’t help but worry something will go wrong.
Both McCrum and Charlton are also worried about long-term solutions.
“This will help things temporarily but eventually the money will run out,” McCrum said.
Still, Charlton said she is incredibly grateful to those who donated.
“I’m just shocked and thankful I don’t know what to say,” she said. “I don’t think I’m ever going to be able to thank you enough.”