What happens when you lose your home at 72 in Amesbury, Massachusetts?

A no fault eviction left 72 year old Judith with few options. She has lived most of her life in the Massachusetts towns of Amesbury and Newburyport, but a shortage of housing has fueled record-high home prices across the state and she was unable to find an apartment she could afford. The housing crisis is hitting older women in Massachusetts especially hard. At UMass Boston, the Gerontology Institute found high housing costs have left the majority of Massachusetts women over the age of 65 “economically vulnerable“ - the highest percentage of any state in the country. Here’s how Judith survived in her car for nearly a year, using water at a local cemetery to bathe and driving for everything she needed - from food to a bathroom. Just before Christmas she finally found a new home with help from Community Teamwork Inc., a nonprofit based in Lowell, Massachusetts. GBH News cameras captured her move as she unloaded kitchen supplies and welcomed her cat to their new home in Amesbury, Massachusetts. Watch our new video about how demolishing strip malls can help solve Greater Boston’s housing crisis: See more from the GBH News Priced Out series here: Read the story here: You can share your Priced Out story or ask a question you’d like answered by filling out this Google form: GBH News is a premier source for in-depth local news and original story telling based in Boston, Massachusetts. Subscribe to the GBH YouTube channel: Follow GBH News on Instagram: Like GBH News on Facebook: Follow GBH News on Twitter: We can’t do it without you. Support our award-winning community journalism by donating today: