Family living in camper after state assigns them shelter 111 miles away

HAVERHILL, Mass. — The 27-foot long camper is far from their idea of a dream home.

Inside, seven people are squeezed into the 300-square foot area.

“It's tight, but we make it work the best we can,” said father Nathan Johnson.

Nathan and his wife Anne said the small space is far better than the shelter assigned to them by a state agency.

“When we finally broke down and said we needed the help, and asked, we got treated, like, worthless,” said Nathan.

Nathan and Anne lived in Haverhill with their five children. Last year, Nathan had health issues, which forced him to go on disability from his job as a garbage man.

The bills piled up, and soon they were evicted with their apartment. They lived in local hotels for a few months, trying to maintain normalcy for their children. Then the money ran out.

“They need support and shelter and I feel like that's the main thing that I'm supposed to give them, and I've failed,” said Anne.

A feeling of failure is tough for any parent, but was made it even tougher was their two youngest sons. One has developmental disabilities, the other cerebral palsy. Anne said they needed to stay in Haverhill for continuity with their therapy and school.

“It's all here, and without that, they have nothing,” she said.

Anne applied for temporary emergency shelter at the Department of Housing and Community Development in Boston, with a letter from her son's developmental specialist, saying, "it is in his best interests to have a safe home."

Instead, the state assigned them to an apartment in Holyoke, 111 miles away.

“They said there was no room for us anywhere else,” said Nathan.

When they arrived at the shelter in Holyoke, it wasn’t what the family was expecting.

“We got down there, cars up on blocks, really rough neighborhood,” said Nathan.

The kind of place, Nathan said, where he worried if what he heard was fireworks or gunshots. It was not where he wanted to raise his children.

“I didn't feel safe with my kids there at all,” he said.

Inside, Anne said she found feces, signs of mice infestation and doors that didn't lock. They were there for nine days until Nathan said someone broke into his daughter's bedroom.

“It was not healthy, it wasn't safe,” said Nathan.

That brought them to the cramped trailer in Haverhill, borrowed from a friend. They don't know what they'll do next. But for now, they're together, and Nathan said that's all that matters.

“We need to stay up here, I need to keep my family together,” said Nathan.

State officials told Boston 25 News that families can request a transfer to their housing assignment, and that they work with landlords to address any issues like mice infestation, which includes site inspections.

The Johnsons said they are hopeful they will be approved for a new apartment somewhere on the North Shore.

FULL STATETMENT

“The administration believes homelessness is a human tragedy and that sheltering homeless families in motel rooms is the most disruptive and least effective way of meeting this tragedy. The Department of Housing and Community Development takes all individual cases and transfer requests seriously to meet a family’s needs, while working with residents to hold shelter providers accountable for proper site conditions. The Department has worked collaboratively to re-house and re-shelter thousands of homeless families into more sustainable living situations based on their individual needs, reducing the population of families sheltered in motel rooms from over 1,500 to under 50 since 2015,” said DHCD spokesperson Sam Kaufman

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