In a yearlong series on evictions from public housing, the Bangor Daily News, in partnership with ProPublica, uncovered practices around back rent repayment agreements that Maine’s housing leaders didn’t even know were happening. With support from the Fund, reporter Sawyer Loftus showed that people in public housing who paid their back rent have evictions on their permanent records – even when they were never actually evicted. The team also published stories to reach people in Maine who have received eviction notices, and the newspaper mailed a brochure to residents in ZIP codes with high concentrations of public housing.
Grantee series on evictions in Maine uncovers questionable practices by public-housing landlords
