Faces of affordable housing: Meet Patty Nichols of Meredith

Editor's note: Affordable housing is about everyone in our community being able to afford a home that supports good physical, financial, and emotional well-being. This occasional series produced by Lakes Region Community Developers, Lakes Region Community Services, and Laconia Housing features stories of people who live in affordable housing in the Lakes Region to demonstrate the diversity of people who thrive in affordable housing and how it enriches our communities.

MEREDITH — Patty Nichols is lovingly called the "matriarch” by her friends at Pinecrest Apartments, an affordable housing apartment complex developed by Lakes Region Community Developers. According to Patty, though, “We all just look out for each other.”

For Patty, finding a home at Pinecrest Apartments in 2009 meant safety. Before Pinecrest, Patty had spent 13 years in what she describes as an abusive marriage while working two full-time jobs to support her children. When her marriage ended, she moved in with her sister before getting her own apartment. After a work injury, Patty's apartment was no longer affordable. That led her to Pinecrest, where she is one of the original tenants who moved in right after it opened. She lives there with her granddaughter, who she’s raised since birth, and turns 16 this year.

Patty spent 30 years working in the health insurance industry before retiring early and taking disability due to health issues. Her life changed a lot after that, but despite the health challenges, Patty has built a good life at Pinecrest. She enjoys taking a leadership role in the community garden on her side of the complex. The garden provides healthy produce for six of her neighbors.

“I like doing it, and every year I add more to it. This year I have cantaloupe growing and radish," she said. 

Patty really lights up when she talks about the friends she has made at Pinecrest. She loves getting together with her neighbors for cookouts, planting the gardens, and hanging outside chatting for what they like to call their “meetings.”

“We’re there for each other. We keep our neighborhood safe,” said Patty. She frequently plays a role in organizing community-wide events at Pinecrest, such as last year’s summer barbecue and fall festival.

Patty shared a compelling note about her former neighbor and close friend, Deb, who lived at Pinecrest and has since died.

“She taught me how to come out of my shell. She taught me how to talk to people face to face. You spend 30 years behind a phone and working two jobs by yourself all the time, you kind of forget how to be with people. She helped me with all of that,” Patty reflected. In Deb’s final days, Patty sat beside her, holding her hand.

Patty is a proud mother to two sons who have retired from the military. Her oldest served eight deployments in Afghanistan, while her youngest served in the guard for more than 14 years before being medically retired after an accident while on duty. His daughter lives with Patty, and she beams with pride when talking about her granddaughter.

“She’s an amazing young girl,” said Patty. “I get nothing but compliments about her. She’s very smart and hopes to become a pediatric orthopedic oncologist.” Patty thinks her granddaughter has been happy at Pinecrest, where she, too, has made good friends and experienced a home Patty says has “always been her constant. Always been her steady.”

Patty appreciates her mission-driven landlord, LRCD, which provides resident services and modest financial supports to help their tenants thrive.

“I love the way that LRCD is always going forward, looking for new and inventive ways to make life livable and affordable for those of us who need it,” she said.

One example is LRCD’s dental program, which is helping Patty get a new smile. LRCD learned through a survey of all their tenants in 2018, that 70% of them did not have dental insurance, and most were not accessing regular dental care. LRCD raised funds to provide matching payments to dentists so tenants can afford the care they need.

Patty, whose teeth never came in right as a child, shared, “by the time my birthday rolls around in July, I will actually, for the first time in my entire life, have a smile I will be proud of. And LRCD is helping to make that happen for me.”

Patty has found support and community at Pinecrest and LRCD. She now gives back as a member of LRCD’s board of directors, where she serves as a voice for tenants.

Patty doesn’t understand why people don’t always support the development of affordable housing. She believes it’s something everyone needs to have, noting it's especially important for those leaving an abusive relationship who need a safe place to live on one income. In addition, she says finding affordable housing is a challenge for veterans just coming out of the military.

“I think that Pinecrest, and places like Pinecrest, are truly a godsend. I’m living my best life right now, and I owe that to Lakes Region Community Developers. I’m raising a child on disability and we don’t worry about a roof over our head or food,” Patty concluded.