'Dream come true': Maine couple who spent 10 months homeless in woods get new apartment

SANFORD, Maine — Jeff Sandler opened the fridge on Monday, took out a carton of iced coffee, popped the cap, and took a swig.

He had made the coffee and poured it into the empty carton at his tent in the woods of south Sanford that morning. Now, hours later, he was drinking it while standing in his new apartment that he shares with Tami, his wife of nearly 30 years.

For the Sandlers, months and months of homelessness have come to an end.

“This is a dream come true,” Jeff said.

Just hours earlier, however, everything had felt like a nightmare. A few plans to move out of the woods and into an apartment, courtesy of a hard-won housing voucher, had fallen through. Hopes for a new place to live felt dashed.

And then there was all that rain that fell in the region from Sunday night into Monday morning. The water accumulated, seeping into their tent and drenching everything inside, including their makeshift bed, pillows and blankets.

“Everything we have is now completely ruined,” Jeff said. “We’re not going to be able to stay here anymore … We’ve done all we can to make it to today, but we can’t do this anymore with what we have. I’m not confident that anyone is going to see our white flag of defeat.”

Previous story: How couple survived 10 months in Maine woods

Then, less than two hours later, something happened. The Sanford Housing Authority contacted the Sandlers and told them they had a new apartment waiting for them. They would be able to move in that afternoon.

Once settled, they had that iced coffee in the fridge, two plastic chairs in the living room, and a mattress with sheets on their bedroom floor. Shannon Bentley, of the Sanford Police Department’s Mental Health Unit, had brought them the mattress.

While the Sandlers had just those few possessions, they also now had things they had largely lived without since becoming homeless back in February. That fridge. An oven and stove. A toilet. A shower. A ceiling.

After the loneliness of the woods — they lived by themselves, as opposed to in an encampment with others in their situation — the Sandlers now have many neighbors and are part of a community that holds Bingo nights, eats meals together, and enjoys all sorts of activities and entertainment planned by the staff.

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Sanford police Sgt. Colleen Adams, who heads the SPD’s Mental Health Unit, worked with Bentley and other agencies and organizations, such as the Sanford Housing Authority, York County Shelter Programs, York County Community Action Corporation, and the Sanford-Springvale Rotary Club, to secure the apartment for the Sandlers.

On Monday, Adams expressed happiness for the Sandlers but also commented on the delays, difficulties, setbacks and levels of bureaucracy that they had to navigate to find them a home.

“It takes a village, but it shouldn’t be this difficult to house people,” Adams said. “It’s frustrating, to say the least, how hard it is for folks on their own, let alone an army of agencies, to get people housed.”

In a recent interview, Sanford police Maj. Matthew Gagne said there were about 40 homeless people in the city last year at this time. Now, according to Gagne, that total has practically quintupled to around 200 or more.

Some of the reasons for the spike include the current high cost of rent, an increase in landlords evicting tenants, the end of pandemic-related funding, and not enough shelter beds, according to Adams.

On Monday night, state legislators and municipal and county officials from throughout the region attended a symposium on homelessness in the Sanford Performing Arts Center at Sanford High School. Adams, Bentley, and Lacey Bailey, a clinician from Sweetser Options and also a member of the mental health unit, presented the forum.

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Sandlers find comfort in new home

Nearby, the Sandlers were spending their first night in their new home.

“This is perfect for us,” Jeff said as he gave a tour of his new apartment on Monday afternoon. “I like all the windows because of how I’ll be able to see the snow coming down.”

Under the arrangement at their new place, the Sandlers will pay rent that is 30% of their income, which, at the moment, is solely Tami’s Social Security. Jeff said he will start receiving his Social Security soon, too.

Jeff expressed gratitude to the Sanford Housing Authority and the Sanford Police Department’s Mental Health Unit for helping him and Tami find a new home. He also thanked a group of people at a local service station who brought a turkey dinner to their tent on Thanksgiving.

“I’m so happy that we made it to the other side of this,” Jeff said.

He added he is eager to help others living through the same homeless situation he and Tami had been experiencing just hours earlier.

“I want to pay it forward,” he said of his newfound good fortune. “That’s what I take out of this lesson. I just can’t wait for an opportunity to help someone else.”

During an interview at their tent in late November, Tami mostly kept quiet, bundled against the cold in a jacket and hat.

In her new apartment on Monday, however, she was all smiles. Jeff said he was relieved and glad that his wife, who has a heart condition, no longer had to live in the woods. He said he was glad he would now see her “come back and be herself” after all the pain and uncertainty they had endured together.

“We can begin to heal now,” Jeff said.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Maine couple who spent 10 months homeless in woods get new apartment