CUTLER BAY – Miami-Dade County has approved a project that would get hundreds of homeless seniors off the street.
The LaQuinta Hotel in Cutler Bay will be transformed into subsidized housing for low income seniors. It will cost the county $14 million dollars.
Marilyn Light is hoping to find permanent housing. She experienced homelessness after living a full life. She was an officer for the City of Miami Police Department. She was married for ten years and when her husband died is when things got tough.
“That was a thing of horror, so my neighbors were [like] I saw Daniella Levine Cava on TV, and boy, does she have a place for you?” Light said.
That place was Mia Casa, it’s a transitional living facility for seniors. It’s meant to serve as a bridge for homeless residents before they get permanent housing. For Marilyn, that quest has been challenging. She says she’s number 500 or something in the Hialeah housing lottery. She went to Sawyer’s Walk and was told she’d be in the next round since they just housed the displaced residents of the Temple Court Apartments.
“I still need the knowledge of okay Sawyer’s walk, let’s say you can’t get in there, where’s the next place?” She said.
The LaQuinta in Cutler Bay could be that place. It’s slated to house at least 130 residents over 55 years old.
However, District 8 Commissioner Danielle Cohen Higgins says the project isn’t cost-effective, with it being $4 million more than its appraised value.
“In two weeks, our homeless, and our sheltered population are at risk of being incarcerated as a result of their poverty and if it is our goal to stop as many of those arrests as possible, our votes should reflect exactly that,” Higgins said at Tuesday’s board of commissioners meeting.
On October 1st, public camping in Florida will be illegal. The Homeless Trust says the Cutler Bay project will help house residents in need.
“We’re buying debt-free and renovating debt-free, so that the rent for those on otherwise fixed incomes, living at a lower level from an economic standpoint, will never get hit with special assessments, for a new HVAC system, and the like,” said Ron Book with the Homeless Trust.
As for Marilyn, she says she doesn’t need a senior facility. She can live anywhere. She’s in her 70s, dying her own hair, taking yoga, and art classes. She just needs somewhere affordable to live!
“And of course the 30% or your… and ten government pays 70, that’s a sweet deal and that’s what I’m looking for,” Light said.
The Homeless Trust hopes to have the project completed by the end of the year, which would be after that October first deadline.
