A BLIND man fears for his life after his affordable apartment community threatened to evict him.
67-year-old Gary Gilbert, who is legally blind, resides in government-subsidized housing and is facing the threat of losing his home due to allegations of non-payment of rent for more than a year.
Gilbert, a retired bus driver, has been living at Oakland Station Senior Apartments in Oakland, California, since 2021.
“If I’m out on the street, I’m not going to survive,” Gilbert told local NBC affiliate KNTV.
“I’m just scared. My mind is racing, and I just don’t know what I’m going to do.
“My health problems make it so I can barely get around.”
When deputies showed up at his doorstep in January to execute an eviction notice issued by the apartment complex, Gilbert expressed being incredibly surprised by the situation.
“I was shocked as hell,” Gilbert said.
“I was shocked and scared and everything all at the same time.”
He maintains that he was unaware of the eviction notice prior to law enforcement’s arrival and was under the impression that he was current on his rent payments.
Due to Gilbert’s impaired eyesight, he relies on his family to manage his finances for him and has requested that his landlords verbally communicate important information to him.
Adult Protective Services opened up an investigation into Gilbert’s case as he believes he’s been a victim of fraud.
Given that the eviction note was in writing, Gilbert blames his landlords for failing to verbally inform him of the eviction.
“If they would have followed the procedures like they should have, I would have known something was going on way sooner and I could have rectified it,” Gilbert said.
“I mean I haven’t broken the law or did anything, so I wanted to know what this was about,” Gilbert said.
The eviction gave Gilbert just seven days to vacate his place after his landlord was awarded a default judgment when the tenant, who didn’t know about the notice, failed to show up to court.
Once Gilbert was adequately informed of what was going on, he hired Maria Guerra, an attorney from the non-profit organization East Bay Community Law Center.
“Because Mr. Gilbert’s disabilities are so severe and because the situation is so particular, I decided to jump on the case,” Guerra said. “There was absolutely no verbal notice given to Mr. Gilbert that he was behind on rent.”
Guerra filed a motion to reverse the default judgment against Gilbert and renew his tenancy at the complex.
“Mr. Gilbert is at risk of permanently losing his affordable home, becoming ineligible for Section 8 due to an eviction on his record, and losing all his personal belongings,” Guerra wrote.
The judge granted Guerra’s ask and instructed the complex to restore Gilbert’s tenancy. However, two weeks after the ruling, Gilbert is still living in the East Oakland motel, which is being paid for by Alameda County’s Social Services Agency.
Oakland Pacific Associates, the company that owns Oakland Station, fought the judge’s ruling arguing that the eviction was already enforced so the judge no longer had the power to give Gilbert his apartment back.
The judge agreed, but now Guerra is pushing back against the decision.
Gilbert’s funding from Alameda County’s Social Services Agency will run out soon, and, if the problem is not fixed, he will either end up on the streets or in a shelter.
“I just want to go back home,” Gilbert said.
Oakland Station did not immediately reply to The U.S. Sun’s request for more information.
