Michael Fuller is still a bit awed that he has a home to go to after spending nearly three years without one.
Fuller was one of the first tenants to move into the Aroostook County Action Program’s Norman Fournier Place, a 13-unit complex that is the region’s first supportive housing project.
The Easton native moved back to Aroostook County to be closer to family after his mother died. He stayed with some family members as long as possible then moved to the Sister Mary O’Donnell Shelter for the Homeless for about four months, he said.
A week after moving into Fournier Place, he found himself adjusting well from communal living.
“It’s not like living with other people, but I love my apartment,” he said. “I can cook my own meals and there’s nobody to tell me what time I have to be in at night.”
Fuller’s experience is exactly what the agency’s director of programs, Heidi Rackliffe, envisioned for Norman Fournier Place, which was designed to bridge the gap between shelter living and a more stable life.
Finding affordable housing is increasingly challenging in many places in Maine. The state lacks about 18,000 units of housing that people with low incomes can afford, according to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. Fournier Place aims to help more people find a new start by having a stable home, Rackliffe said.
“We do not have enough housing stock in Aroostook County, nor do we have affordable and safe housing stock,” she said. “And when we do have housing that becomes available, it’s often in remote areas where the opportunities for employment are not as plentiful as they could be.”
Putting someone in an isolated town with no transportation and few resources is setting them up to fail, she said.
As fuel, water and electricity costs rise, landlords have had to increase their rent, she said. That means a struggle for someone who wants to lift themselves out of a difficult situation.
Aroostook County Action Program sought to help solve that dilemma with Fournier Place. Named in honor of the agency’s first director and current Aroostook County Commissioner Norman Fournier, the complex has three one-bedroom units and 10 efficiency apartments, Rackliffe said.
Two weeks after the doors opened, 11 apartments are occupied and staff are screening applicants for the others.
There could be four more of the buildings and it still wouldn’t empty out the shelter and serve the numbers of people living in outdoor spaces, she said.
Many housing projects cater to families, rather than people living alone, Rackliffe said. That’s why the agency chose to build supportive housing with efficiency apartments designed for individuals or couples.
“We wanted to pick a priority population that is typically left behind,” she said. “That was our mission with the design of Fournier Place, to target what could be hard-to-house [people] or individuals that had just always fallen in between the cracks.”
Tenants will pay rent depending on their situations. Some may have state housing vouchers, and others may pay subsidized prices according to their income, according to agency officials. And unlike transitional housing, where tenants have two years to find a permanent living situation, supportive housing involves no time limit.
To be eligible for low-income housing or assistance, a one-person household can’t make more than $17,730 in Aroostook County in 2024, according to MaineHousing. For Fournier place, the limits are at or below $17,300 for one person or $20,440 for two, Rackliffe said.
As tenants find full-time employment or their wages rise beyond allowable limits, then they will move on, which is what the agency intends, Rackliffe said.
Fuller expects to do just that. He works part-time at a company he declined to name, but said the business has been supportive.
Unfortunate circumstances led to him losing his home and money in North Carolina, he said. He’s grateful for a chance to get on his feet again.
For Rackliffe, it’s a start to something she is passionate about: helping people simply have a home to go to. The first day tenants moved in was emotional.
“Everybody was high-fiving even people they didn’t know and crying with happiness,” Rackliffe said. “It was amazing. I cried all the way home.”
