A 96-year-old woman is fighting back against the senior living housing project that wants to boot her out of the unit where she has lived for 22 years.
Years ago, she signed a deal with Pacific Grove Senior Living in Pacific Grove, California, that she could live in the complex until her death, according to KSBW.
Then came Aug. 16. The complex manager delivered what Jean Jacques called a “nasty letter,” telling her to pay what the complex decided she owed in three days or be evicted, according to Monterey Now.
“I’d be on the street. I wouldn’t even have a tent,” Jacques said. “I’d be in a bad way.”
The letter claimed she owed almost $110,000, according to KSBW.
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“I’m not going. They’ll have to bury me because I have no place to go,” Jacques said. “They have all my money.”
Jacques made her deal with California-Nevada Methodist Homes, which sold the complex to Pacifica Senior Living in 2022.
SENIOR LIVING EVICITON | As Jean Jacques celebrated her 96th birthday in July, she never considered that just one month later, she would be advocating for the roof over her head.https://t.co/w8pE4MYENK pic.twitter.com/OGK6pXdL50
— KSBW Action News 8 (@ksbw) August 27, 2024
Should she be allowed to stay?
Existing contracts were grandfathered in, but not the previous owner’s policies.
Bob Sadler, president of the Pacific Grove Senior Living’s Residents’ Association, said “lifetime care” contracts were unconditional under the former owner, even if they outlived the savings given the complex. He said the facility balanced what it lost on residents who outlived their savings with what it gained from those who died before using up their savings.
The eviction notice is under scrutiny from Elizabeth Campos, ombudsman project manager at the Alliance for Aging. She said the notice did not have required approvals and also failed to explain how it can be appealed.
“You do get angry knowing that it’s an elderly person,” Campos said. “Where is this person going to go?”
“She’s devoted all of her savings and money to this place,” Sadler said. “I don’t care what the legal ramifications are here. This is morally unthinkable.”
The complex has not responded to media inquiries, nor has Jacques heard from it since the eviction notice was delivered.
Patricia McGinnis, founder of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, told Monterey Now that the notice is not in compliance with the rules.
“To do that to a 96-year-old woman … they should be ashamed of themselves,” McGinnis said.
As her allies work to wage a legal fight on her behalf, Jacques said her plan is to defy the notice.
“They’ll have to drag me out of here screaming and hollering,” she said.
