Guanita Haynes-Porter, 50, is among those caught up in fallout after new owners started buying up four-plexes and apartment buildings in the Meadowood Neighborhood. Numerous tenants, like Haynes-Porter, have received non-renewal notices. “I really think they’re cutthroat people,” she said. “They’ve got money, so screw the little guy.” Haynes-Porter is among the lucky ones: She has found another apartment.
New owner Josh Gierach carries plantings for landscaping at Orchard Village Apartments, where, as lead investor, he is upgrading the property, raising rents and more aggressively screening tenants. He says the neighborhood has been crime-ridden and that he is determined to turn it around.
After receiving a non-renewal notice from the new landlords of his apartment, Nelson Turner, 64, moves his belongings from his residence. The retired baker said he had not been able to secure other housing and would be doubling up with relatives.
Centorian Hoye takes a break from packing the belongings of his mother, Myra Hoye, after her lease was terminated by new landlords at Orchard Village Apartments in Madison. Myra Hoye was in the hospital on move-out day. She has not been able to find new housing and is doubling-up with a relative.
Wanda Thornton, 60, has lived at Orchard Village Apartments for four years, and her husband has been there 13 years. They are among tenants who are pleased with the new owners and the work being done to improve the property and oust problem tenants. "Oh, my god. You can't even imagine the difference in just the past eight months," she said. "It's like a total transformation."
If you are homeless or near-homeless and need help: For emergency shelter, call the toll-free Dane County Housing Crisis Line at 855-510-2323. For other housing questions or general assistance, call the United Way of Dane County helpline at 2-1-1.
If you would like to help the homeless: The United Way’s 2-1-1 helpline also is the place to call to give help. Or go to volunteeryourtime.org.
About the project
Seemingly intractable, homelessness is among the biggest problems facing the Madison area. For five months, the State Journal has been investigating its root causes, obstacles to solutions and its insidious effects on the people it overwhelms. This week and over the next four months, we will tell — and continue to explore — this complex and often heartbreaking story.
June 8: Landlords newly empowered by state laws walk a fine line between "cleaning up" a neighborhood and creating homelessness.
June 9: After a slow start, the city and county begin making progress on homelessness, with much left to do.
July: The growing numbers of homeless — most of them families and children — strain social and public safety services and challenge the area's schools.
August: The local patchwork of shelters and service providers has gaps and struggles to meet the needs of Madison's homeless.
September: There are many models for a way forward on homelessness. Which is right for Madison, and who will lead?
About the reporters
Wisconsin State Journal reporters Dean Mosiman and Doug Erickson have spent the last several months reporting on the issue of homelessness in Madison.
Mosiman, 58, has covered city government for the State Journal since 1997. A native of Minneapolis, he previously worked for newspapers in California, New York and Washington state.
Erickson, 51, covers K-12 education and religion for the newspaper and has worked here since 1999. The South Dakota transplant previously worked for The (Appleton) Post-Crescent, as well as newspapers in Georgia and Minnesota.
New owner Josh Gierach carries plantings for landscaping at Orchard Village Apartments, where, as lead investor, he is upgrading the property, raising rents and more aggressively screening tenants. He says the neighborhood has been crime-ridden and that he is determined to turn it around.
Guanita Haynes-Porter, 50, is among those caught up in fallout after new owners started buying up four-plexes and apartment buildings in the Meadowood Neighborhood. Numerous tenants, like Haynes-Porter, have received non-renewal notices. “I really think they’re cutthroat people,” she said. “They’ve got money, so screw the little guy.” Haynes-Porter is among the lucky ones: She has found another apartment.
Centorian Hoye takes a break from packing the belongings of his mother, Myra Hoye, after her lease was terminated by new landlords at Orchard Village Apartments in Madison. Myra Hoye was in the hospital on move-out day. She has not been able to find new housing and is doubling-up with a relative.
After receiving a non-renewal notice from the new landlords of his apartment, Nelson Turner, 64, moves his belongings from his residence. The retired baker said he had not been able to secure other housing and would be doubling up with relatives.
Wanda Thornton, 60, has lived at Orchard Village Apartments for four years, and her husband has been there 13 years. They are among tenants who are pleased with the new owners and the work being done to improve the property and oust problem tenants. "Oh, my god. You can't even imagine the difference in just the past eight months," she said. "It's like a total transformation."
