Testimonial
Hagerstown woman uses addiction recovery story to inspire others
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (DC News Now) — “I knew God had a plan for me, and that was to be clean and sober and to be a productive citizen,” Lillian Perrain said. If you have met Perrain you would never know about the things she has endured in her past from fighting with her addiction to spending 13 years in jail.
“I started just wanting to know which got me into trouble,” Perrain said. “I started using it and abusing my body by using; I neglected my children and my family. Then I guess God said he had another opportunity for me, and that was prison.”
While she was incarcerated, she realized that she wanted better for herself.
“While I was in prison, I got my culinary degree because you go in [prison] doing something, you come out doing something, you go in doing nothing, you come out doing nothing,” Perrain explained. “I promised myself, after my mother passed away, that I wasn’t gonna be one of these people that was gonna go out here and go back into the drug system again.”
Soon after, she participated in a transitional program to keep that promise to herself, where she found Teresa Peek with The Elder Group. The nonprofit organization helped her find housing after the program.
“When the transition home should have been my rock, she became my rock,” Perrain said. “All I have is because I have her and her organization.” Now that she has a home of her own and a stable job, she uses her story to inspire others to do the same.
“Never think there’s nobody out here to help you, because there is, and I’m one of those people who, if people need help, I’m not hard to find, but it’s other organizations,” Perrain said.
Hagerstown seniors struggle to find affordable housing
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (DC News Now)
Rent prices have become a problem for senior citizens in Hagerstown amid steady increases all around the DMV. “Trying to find affordable houses here in Hagerstown is really too hard,” Resident Lila Johnson said. “Starting from like ($1,400) up to $1,800 per month, I cannot afford that.”
Johnson has lived in Hagerstown for six years. She previously lived in Montgomery County before her rent got too expensive and forced her to move. Now, she’s encountering the same problems as before. “First it started five percent on the raise, then he went ten percent, then to this year… my rent jumped up from $1,036 to $1,140, and I can’t afford that,” Johnson said
Teresa Peek is the executive director for The Elder Group, a non-profit that helps seniors find affordable housing. She said it’s hard to find affordable housing that is also “senior-friendly”, or that considers their needs, such as no stairs or being easily accessible.
“We tried to look for senior housing, but the list is never-ending; the list is long,” Peek explained. “There’s no low-income housing for the seniors, so they have to pay market rent, and living on a fixed income gets pretty hard.”
Both Peek and Johnson agreed that if the city doesn’t focus on building more affordable housing, most seniors will be forced out of their homes and left on the streets. “A person who’s not getting this help, if they run out of funding, there’s nowhere for that person to go; they can’t afford to pay the deposit, first month’s rent, last month’s rent is just not possible living on a fixed income,” Peek said. “So, they left out being homeless.”
The Elder Group is currently working with other local organizations to help find seniors affordable housing.
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