The future of some refugee families facing eviction at the Enclave apartment complex in Silver Spring seemed brighter as a county official announced during a press briefing on Wednesday that about 10 families of the more than 40 would be qualified to stay in their homes.
So how did this situation come about and what’s next for the remaining families?
The plight of the refugee families came to public attention in September after news of the evictions was reported by several local media outlets. County Executive Marc Elrich (D) said money and supports from resettlement agencies ran dry and the families were unable to pay their rent.
“When the support services ran out, rent supports or job training – which is a big issue in this community – they have not been able to pay rent and some of them are paying extraordinarily high rents,” Elrich said at a Sept. 25 media briefing.
In one case, a tenant was paying a monthly rent of $3,000 for the same unit that was being rented in the building for $1,900, Elrich said, adding that some of the refugees are behind on their rent by more than $20,000.
“We’re doing what we can. We’ll put whatever money we can out there,” Elrich said during the Sept. 25 briefing. “We want to help these people. We got a big challenge here and we’re going to do our best to address it, but we are going to be facing real limits to what we can do in the budget.”
Elrich noted that the county itself does not have the resources to pay the back rent of all of the tenants and was asking the state and federal government for assistance.
In total, about 40 to 50 immigrant refugee families were facing eviction, according to County Councilmember Kristin Mink. The Enclave is in Mink’s district.
The apartment complex consists of three high-rise buildings with 1,119 units including studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments. Monthly rent ranges from $1,110 to $2,400, according to the Enclave’s website. The complex, which Elrich called “very challenging” at the Sept. 25 media briefing, is notorious for issues with maintenance, mold and pests, as well as crime and poor management.
In late September, an informal work group consisting of community-based groups, resettlement agencies, the county’s Department of Health and Human Services and the Maryland Office of Refugees and Asylees (MORA), had formed to look over the eviction cases, Mink told MoCo360 last week.
“They’re going over all of the cases one by one to try to make sure that there is a plan in place for every family to stay housed and that they’re going to be able to afford to be there for, you know, an extended period of time,” Mink said.
According to Mink, community-based organizations such as the Muslim Community Center and the Muslim Voices Coalition have been working hand-in-hand with the local and state entities to help the families facing eviction.
“It’s been really, really helpful to have the engagement of these community partners, of folks who have relationships with these families, to help ensure that these are productive conversations,” Mink said.
Christine Hong, Montgomery County’s chief of Services to End and Prevent Homelessness said at the Sept. 25 news briefing that she also appreciated the community’s support of the families and the “outpouring of concern.” She also said she hoped the county would be able to work with the Enclave’s management, Brooklyn-based Rose Valley Management, to possibly seek lower rents and “more reasonable arrangements” for the families.
In a statement emailed to MoCo360 Sept. 26, Valerie Reaper, the director of marketing for Rose Valley, said that the Enclave and management team “remain committed to working with the county and support groups to ensure residents have every opportunity to avoid evictions.
“We remain in frequent communication with local officials and their offices, and eagerly await updates from them, providing a path forward,” she wrote.
In untangling each eviction case, Mink said, some families would be able to stay at the Enclave, while in other cases it may be better to find new, more affordable housing options.
Nonetheless, Mink said she was hopeful, that with the collaboration of community-based groups and assistance from the state and federal government, the families would be able to stay housed.
“But it’s obviously, it’s really difficult,” Mink said. “There are limited funds available from everybody, from the county, from the state, from the resettlement agencies who are funded largely through the federal government for this work.”
The complex is also up for sale, according to Tonia Chestnut, the president of the Enclave Tenants Association, which adds another element of uncertainty for residents. Chestnut told MoCo360 Monday that there has been limited communication about the potential sale but she hoped whoever might take over would “take care of the complex” and its residents.
In March, tenants at the Enclave rallied outside of the apartment complex to bring awareness to its issues. Abu Conteh, who was the president of the Enclave Tenants Association at the time, told MoCo360 in March that he and other residents “sleep with one eye open” anxious and afraid that there may be a gas or water leak, issues with pests or a crime happening outside of their apartment doors.
Matt Losak, the executive director of the Montgomery County Renters Alliance, said the alliance has worked with tenants at the Enclave for more than a decade and has been troubled by the issues residents face. He described management as “bad” and “inconsistent” and noted issues with evictions targeting low-income residents and high crime rates.
Overall, the situation of refugee tenants facing eviction was a greater indication that somewhere in the resettlement process “the ball has been dropped,” Losak said last week.
“We do think that a landlord is entitled to get their rent and if you don’t pay your rent, you’re going to be subject to eviction,” he said. “I do believe … that the immigrants from Afghanistan in particular have needed more wraparound support by the agencies that brought them here.”
Chestnut told MoCo360 Monday that the association has also been working with the families facing the evictions and said there were more questions than answers. “We just know that promises were made and the follow-through was not there,” she said.
According to Chestnut, the association has been contacting and in communication with local elected officials at the county and state level and partnering with the local groups in contact with the refugees.
“There are so many people .. that we’ve been talking to, but no one really has the answers. That’s still our issue,” Chestnut said. “There have been some people who have received assistance, … but it’s hard for any one organization or sometimes even just two, to come together [and take care of the rent].”
As the informal work group, the county’s Department of Health and Human Services and community groups fight to help the refugees stay housed, Chestnut said she hopes the public has compassion for the families.
“Some people don’t realize it is very, very difficult,” Chestnut said, noting that the immigrant families are navigating a new system, new country and may not speak English. “A lot of them are trying. At least a lot of the ones that we speak to, they are trying.”
MoCo360 reporter Ginny Bixby contributed to this report
