Barrington neighborhood rallies behind elderly couple, daughter after eviction
Many residents in a Barrington neighborhood have rallied behind an elderly couple and their daughter since they were evicted from their house this week.
Fox Point subdivision resident Jack Keenan helped get the good-neighbor ball rolling after learning from his wife that furniture and other possessions filled much of the family's front lawn on the 200 block of Surrey Lane when the eviction process began Monday. The couple are believed to be in their 90s.
On Tuesday morning, nearly 50 residents responded to Keenan's social media post on a neighborhood blog and filled a semitrailer with the items so the family could beat a deadline to be off the property or have whatever remained placed in a trash bin, he said. That was followed by a GoFundMe effort closing in on a goal of $20,000 to help the family.
"People very, very quickly came to action," Keenan said Friday. "Most of the people did not know the family at all."
Bob Lee, a longtime Barrington volunteer and Fox Point resident, said he was impressed how willing the neighborhood was to help and that offers of assistance are coming from beyond the subdivision.
"It brings us back to the good old days when neighbors were neighbors," Lee said.
Lake County circuit court records show a foreclosure judgment against the homeowners was entered more than a year ago on Jan. 11, 2017. Lake County sheriff's police Sgt. Christopher Covelli confirmed that deputies were sent to the Surrey Lane house to oversee the court-ordered eviction.
Keenan said he stopped by the home Monday night and talked to the daughter, who was outside, after hearing about the furniture and other items on the family's front lawn. He said the woman didn't ask for any assistance after acknowledging the foreclosure stemming from a reverse mortgage.
As part of the group effort to help the family Tuesday, Keenan said, a Fox Point resident who owns a trucking company secured the semitrailer for the family's possessions. The elderly couple and their daughter are now living in a motel, he said.
Neighbors with expertise in housing and other disciplines are working with the family to find a permanent solution.