Tenants behind on rent tell a familiar tale
Podcast Episode
The tenants of some troubled rental properties are looking for ways to help the landlord. Kyle Geissler reports. You can read more in Friday's Janesville Gazette.
JANESVILLE — They told familiar stories at the Salvation Army on Thursday afternoon.
The family was barely making it when Dad lost his job.
Mom is trying to raise the kids on her own, but she can't get work at the temp agency.
The young woman was laid off and has no one to turn to.
The people gathered Thursday came in all ages, sizes and colors, but all had an unmistakable look of sadness and exhaustion.
They had something else in common, too: They owe rent to Billy Kesselring.
Local organizations such as ECHO, United Way and Red Cross and the city of Janesville invited Kesselring's tenants who are behind on their rent to a pre-screening session Thursday.
Kesselring owns 19 rental properties in Janesville, Edgerton and Milton. Fourteen of those properties were in danger of losing power this week before Kesselring reached a payment plan with Alliant Energy, and most of the buildings still are in danger of foreclosure.
Kesselring says he has fallen behind on the mortgages and utilities because most of his tenants are behind on the rent. Of his 83 occupied units, 22 are up-to-date on rent, he said.
An hour before the session ended Thursday, 26 households had come through the Salvation Army gym, wandering from table to table to apply for rent, transportation and food assistance.
Many said they came because Kesselring told them to.
"Billy's a really good guy, and I don't want to let him down," said Jennifer Jackson, 18.
Jackson lives in one of Kesselring's Edgerton buildings with a roommate and the roommate's daughter. She can't keep up with rent since losing her job at Walmart, she said.
Shirley and Noah Olivas, 646 S. Garfield Ave., Janesville, said they fell behind on the rent and now are paying as much as they can from their unemployment checks each week to catch up.
Noah, 28, was laid off from LSI when it closed its Janesville facility, and Shirley, 25, lost her job at Dairy Queen a few months ago.
"We can't find anything," Shirley said. "We're trying really hard."
The tenants said they appreciate Kesselring's patience and believe he's trying to help them, even if his kindness has now put his business in jeopardy.
"He's been very flexible and good with us," said Laura St. John, 44, who lives in a cottage on Happy Hollow Road, Janesville, with her teenage son and daughter. "I wish I could pay him more."
The goal of Thursday's session was to connect tenants with resources, said Marc Perry, director of planning and development for Community Action of Rock and Walworth Counties.
"The fact that they're in the system now and on the radar makes it easier for them to access help," he said.
But the agencies mostly offer short-term help, he said.
"Even the resources we have can only sustain people for a short time," he said. "If the economy doesn't turn around, and people don't get back to work, things are going to be pretty bad."
May 2, 2009 at 8:20 p.m.
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There are very few jobs in the area. However, what I have seen in my job, working with several non-profit agencies, is this:
People lose their jobs and get their unemployment, however, they still spend as if they were making their full wages. They keep their cable, family cellphones, etc. Then they wonder why they can't make ends meet.
Eventually they end up at the Job Center and wonder why they can't get food stamps. Because, they aren't under poverty level. Then they get mad at the workers there, like it's their fault.
May 2, 2009 at 8:14 p.m.
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Remember, 1600 people applied for 120 jobs at Buffalo Bills. To me, that is evidence of the lack of jobs in this area.
May 2, 2009 at 5:33 p.m.
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I didn't think (other than seasonal workers) that you could "lose" your job at Walmart, unless you're fired. I hadn't heard or seen anything on the Gazette site that Walmart was laying off. That said, there are jobs out there.
If finding employment is tough, there are a lot of local charities that could use a hand. You would be surprised how charity work can open up doors and one can network to find employment.
Your unemployment checks eventually run out and waiting until they do, is not the time to start thinking of finding another job. Also, by becoming a volunteer, you're not getting yourself into a slothful lazy lifestyle. It will also keep your spirits up. I like the idea of stepping back about 100 years though, we didn't have to have all this "stuff" to get by.
May 2, 2009 at 3:53 p.m.
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It was only a little over 100 years ago that most people had no public utilities. We might have to go back to pit toilets, candles, kerosene lamps, wood-burning stoves, and hand or windmill pumped water. Maybe the state and feds should give big grants for putting up solar panels to help propery owners wien themselves off the traditional electric grid. Somebody could start a cooperative where everyone gets a place to sleep in exchange for their work. Time to plant gardens, can fruits and vegetables, raise one's own poultry, beef and pork. There are many paths to survival and self-sufficiency.
May 2, 2009 at 3:04 p.m.
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There she is again... Looking for someone to put down to make herself feel all high and mighty. I really feel bad for her kids/grand kids if this is what she is really like.
May 2, 2009 at 1:27 p.m.
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gmaof3: I heard several weeks ago that area Walmarts were laying off workers.
May 2, 2009 at 12:55 p.m.
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gmaof3, here you go again, scanning through these articles to find people to rip on. You don't care about the people, you just get your satisfaction pointing out what you hope are flaws in them. You don't know Jennifer Jackson so LEAVE HER ALONE!!! You suffer from some sort of low self-esteem and you try build your self up in these posts. You called Billy a crook and you called me a "squatter" and in both cases you are WRONG! I wish you could meet Billy or me in person and then write your public apology on these boards.
May 2, 2009 at 11:32 a.m.
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gmaof3 - so now that you can't blame Bill I guess you have to pass blame somewhere else, nice job negative nancy!
May 2, 2009 at 9:36 a.m.
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they get fired. need to read between the lines.
May 2, 2009 at 9:13 a.m.
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How does someone lose their job" at Walmart?
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