How an oatmeal cookie saved this man from homelessness
YORK, Maine -- The villages and towns scattered along Maine's coast are beautiful attractions in the summer. That tourism also makes for high rent costs that are hard for locals to keep up with. James Kences wasn't sure if he'd be able to afford to live in the town of York that he called home for more than 15 years., until a local bagel shop owner noticed a need, and offered a solution.
Kences had lived for 15 years in the same apartment building in York, but when the building was sold earlier this year he found out he would have to move. The 58-year-old has autism and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and relies on his disability checks from the state each month to pay his rent. Money that wasn't enough for a place in York.
"He really wanted to stay here in town," said his long time friend Reverend Kari Prichard. "We could just not find a way for it to be ok for him to leave and so we worked really hard."
Friends of Kences met several times to discuss finding a solution to his housing problem. They were able to find him temporary housing through the York General Housing, but nothing permanent. That was until the owner of the Bagel Basket, Sean Mitchell, where Kences often visits for lunch found a solution. Offering him one of his vacant apartment units.
"As soon as I saw him I just said hey I have a place for you. Let's not worry about the finances. We'll figure that out eventually, but are you interested. He was very interested," said Mitchell.
Kences was able to start moving his stuff into his apartment the beginning of July. His favorite part about his new housing is that it is walking distance from the York Public Library, Old York Historical Society, and York Town Office where he volunteers every week. He's very familiar with York's history, but now he's also familiar with its present day generosity.
"A combination of some real effort on the part of the people who I work with and some give and take back and forth it seems to have happened and I'm deeply appreciative of that fact," said Kences.
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