Lewiston City Councilor Susan Longchamps, left, has made room for 90-year-old Cecile Lavoie at her Lewiston home after Lavoie was evicted from her apartment. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — On her way to a recent City Council meeting, Susan Longchamps decided to stop by her store, Webb’s Market, on Pine Street.

Inside she found her daughter, a Lewiston police officer, talking to 90-year-old Cecile Lavoie, who had just been evicted from the Bradley Street apartment where she had lived for more than 25 years.

With nowhere else to go, there was talk of bringing Lavoie to the police station. Calls were made to local hotels, but they were full.

Longchamps told Lavoie that if she came with her to the City Council workshop, she could come home with her after. Lavoie agreed, and she’s still there after more than 10 days.

“She came home with me, and she’s such a peach,” Longchamps said.

But Longchamps said the ordeal has left her worried that even a “rare case” like Lavoie’s may begin happening more frequently as housing prices soar and there isn’t a proper system in place to stop people from falling through the cracks.

During the council workshop, Longchamps became visibly emotional during a discussion about the city’s shelter ordinance, with Lavoie sitting in the crowd.

Cecile Lavoie, 90, was born and raised in Lewiston. She was evicted from her apartment after living there for over 25 years. (Daryn Slover/Sun Journal) Daryn Slover/Sun Journal

Lavoie, who was born and raised in downtown Lewiston and worked in shoe shops and at St. Mary’s hospital, wasn’t evicted for nonpayment. According to Chris Marot, an attorney for Pine Tree Legal Assistance who represented Lavoie, she was served with a “no-cause” eviction notice in March. Under Maine law, tenants who do not have a lease can be evicted with a “no cause” notice that does not require the landlord to prove that a tenant did anything wrong in order to remove them.

According to Longchamps, the Bradley Street building is changing hands to a family member of the longtime owners, and Lavoie was given two months to move out. In the weeks that followed, Lavoie may not have fully understood the gravity of the situation.

During a court hearing June 5, Marot said an agreement was reached to give Lavoie until July 5 to find an alternative. Lavoie told Longchamps that she signed a document during the hearing, but was unclear what it was.

“Unfortunately, Pine Tree sees a lot of clients who have difficulty finding safe and affordable housing,” Marot said. “The housing market is challenging for low-income Mainers and people on fixed incomes and this severely limits the options that tenants facing eviction have.”

Sometime between July 9 and 17, law enforcement from Androscoggin County completed the eviction. After being locked out of the apartment, Longchamps said Lavoie was taken by the police to the hospital. When Lavoie was deemed healthy and released, she walked from the hospital to Webb’s Market.

Longchamps believes that after 25 years in the same apartment, the 90-year-old might have thought she could just “dig her heels in” and say she wasn’t going anywhere.

When they eventually moved her belongings out of the apartment and into storage, Longchamps said they found unopened mail with an eviction notice.

As a city councilor, Longchamps said Lavoie’s situation is a bit of a wake-up call.

“There’s going to be a lot of elderly people who may not be so lucky to have run into someone,” Longchamps said. “And we’ve got to come up with a plan.”

As housing prices have risen, so have evictions. With the ability to set higher rents due to demand, rental properties are attractive investments, and there’s evidence that investors from outside Lewiston have noticed.

According to a recent report from the city’s Housing Committee, evictions have increased, and the share of rental properties that are locally-owned has decreased. The report also called on city officials to add a staff member dedicated solely to housing issues.

Craig Saddlemire, who manages several properties as part of his role with the Raise-Op Housing Cooperative and is chairman of the Housing Committee, told the Sun Journal recently that the decrease is small but reflects anecdotal evidence they’ve seen that things are changing.

“As someone who manages property, I’m getting like never before tons of inquiries and cash offers for our properties,” he said. “The shift is small, but it’s a new trend that will probably continue, and it could have effects on the local housing market.”

In recent years, the city has also struggled to add new senior housing at a time when waiting lists are lengthy. There are at least two projects in the works, but neither have been built.

As a landlord, Longchamps said she has an apartment unit coming available next month, which she may rent to Lavoie. In the meantime, she’s helping Lavoie look at other options.

Lavoie has never been married, and she has two siblings in the area but neither are in the position or health to take her in.

Longchamps was insistent that she didn’t want to be given a “pat on the back” for what she’s done, but rather highlight the “reality that this could be your grandmother, or someone else’s.”

She said even beyond city policies, at the very least it’s a reminder for people to check in on their elderly family members.

Over the past week, Longchamps said she watched her first Shirley Temple shows with Lavoie. It’s been a little more calm compared to the day Lavoie found herself homeless, but she’s still adjusting to a new reality at 90.

Lavoie has always lived alone and has been mostly solitary, other than a routine of trips to the credit union or grocery store. Now, she’s in a home with a large-screen TV, cellphones and people coming and going.

“It’s like she’s gone to sleep for a very long time and woke up into this whole new world she’s never experienced,” Longchamps said. “And that’s a scary thing.”