Marylyn Johnson, 75, spends her time helping care for preschoolers at a Head Start program in Dorchester, Massachusetts, where she is known as "Mema."
Widely recognized as the volunteer in purple, Johnson has now told local media that storage bills for her belongings have been eating into the Social Security she depends on.
This comes after the loss of her housing voucher and home.
Here's what to know
Johnson told NBC10 Boston that an administrative issue caused her voucher to be terminated and led to the loss of her housing.
"By the time I got back home, the padlock was on the door," said the Action for Boston Community Development Foster Grandparent Program volunteer, who shared that there was also "a big old note: 'stay off the premises.'"
While she looks for longer-term housing, Johnson said she has been renting a room and paying for several storage units to hold her remaining possessions. She told NBC10 that she threw away many other items, including her mattress and box spring.
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"Basically now, it's like I'm paying for three U-Haul units," Johnson said. "That's my Social Security check right there."
Johnson told the local news that some housing providers have told her she could wait anywhere from two to five years for a unit, illustrating the limited options for many older adults living on fixed incomes.
More background
Americans across the country are facing multiple and overlapping challenges, from costly health concerns to rising fuel prices, increasing grocery bills, and housing insecurity.
GBH News recently reported that homelessness among women is increasing, especially for those over 55. And according to Meals on Wheels, one in two "older adults living alone can't afford basic needs." Too often living out of public view and isolated, seniors may battle such struggles on their own.
Experts generally encourage community members to reach out and check in with older neighbors they know may be living far from family and friends and help them to connect with basic resources and social services.
What's being done?
NBC10 Boston connected with Johnson through Action for Boston Community Development, the nonprofit behind the Foster Grandparent Program that also helps people across Greater Boston access housing assistance, food support, fuel assistance, and employment resources.
As affordability pressures continue, the group said more families and individuals are reaching out for assistance.
"It always was the case, but we're seeing more people who I think are in financial crisis and weren't in financial crisis last year," Sharon Scott Chandler, president and CEO of ABCD, told NBC10. " … It is a broader swath of people who are needing to juggle basic necessities."
ABCD is encouraging residents who need help to contact one of its neighborhood service centers and resource offices across Massachusetts.
Where can I learn more?
For more on the housing pressures facing Massachusetts residents, these stories look at the state's housing production shortfall, rising Boston rents, affordable developments, senior tax relief, and fixed-income residents squeezed by higher housing costs:
• With Massachusetts only 15.6% toward its 222,000-home goal, officials push to speed housing approvals.
• In Boston, rents keep climbing as leaders trim housing targets and add tax breaks.
• Massachusetts directed funding to 162 affordable units in two Cambridge housing projects.
• In Springfield, a property-tax relief fund opened for older adults and disabled homeowners.
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