McClellan: A simple life until a glitch got in the way (2024)

Lanail Mallory, 65, has long lived a simple but dignified life. He has lived alone in the same apartment for about 25 years. He has never been married. He has no children.

He grew up in a stable family on the city’s north side. His dad was an upholsterer. His mom stayed home to care for the couple’s eight kids. He was the sixth.

Mallory graduated from Soldan High School in 1978 and joined the Army. He said he injured his knee in training and received an honorable discharge.

After the Army, he had a series of jobs. In 1988, he was transporting cars for Hertz when he was rear-ended at a stop sign. He was diagnosed with a broken neck. He was not paralyzed, but he had physical limitations. He could not be on his feet for long. Nor could he comfortably sit straight for long periods.

He received an insurance settlement and workers compensation. He applied for disability but was initially denied. He lived with his mother and helped care for one of his nephews whose mom — one of Mallory’s sisters — had been killed by her boyfriend.

Three years after the accident, with the help of an attorney, Mallory was declared disabled. He later qualified for Section 8 housing.

He settled into the simple life. He spends most of his time in a recliner watching television. He favors reality shows.

In January, Mallory’s life got complicated. He received a letter from the Housing Authority of St. Louis County. It was a notice of "Termination of Rental Assistance." His rental assistance would be terminated on Jan. 31 because of “failing to supply, or cause to be supplied, information the Authority has requested.”

What information? Mallory keeps lots of records. He stores them in manila folders. His files did not show any recent correspondence with the Housing Authority.

On the other hand, he doesn’t have a lot of direct dealings with the Authority. He pays his rent to the management of the apartment complex.

He was paying $184 a month for his one-bedroom apartment, which is not fancy but seems to be in good condition.

His monthly disability check is $969. His utilities are about $100 a month. He gets $141 in food stamps. He also has to keep the insurance current on his car, a Ford Escort.

So there is not a whole lot of wiggle room financially. He doesn’t go out much. Mostly, he sits in his recliner. He might have a beer and a joint before bed. That’s about it for entertainment.

The “market rate” value of his apartment is $550. That’s what he would pay without his rental assistance.

Mallory said he called the Housing Authority and visited its office but could not get any definitive answers. What information were they lacking? His life circ*mstances had not changed in years.

The management at the apartment complex was no help. In fact, the complex sued him. On Feb. 13, two weeks after his rental assistance had been terminated, Lewis & Clark, the owner of the complex, filed an “Affirmation and Petition for Rent and Possession” against Mallory. The petition said that he owed $383 for unpaid rent, $100 for late fees and $285 for court costs and legal fees. The total was $768.

He did not have that kind of money. Fortunately, he had sisters who did not want to see him tossed onto the street. He went to court on March 7. By then, with rent and late fees and more court costs, his debt had climbed to $1,150. With a loan from his sisters, he paid it. Then the apartment manager said he owed an additional $800 to be completely square. He paid it.

Mallory went to high school with a friend of mine who asked me to look into the matter. I called the Housing Authority and was directed to Terry Hurley of Bailey and Co., a consulting firm that works for the Housing Authority of St. Louis County.

Hurley looked into the matter and came back with good news. The termination of rental assistance had been a mistake and was being reversed. He explained that the rental assistance program is financed by the federal government and there are all sorts of regulations. A person receiving assistance has to be recertified every year. The missing information turned out to be a current phone number. Sure enough, Mallory said he had changed his phone in the past year.

It certainly seems like the decision to terminate Mallory from the rental assistance program was done without sufficient effort, but as Hurley said, even people who are trying to do good make mistakes. Everybody is overworked these days.

A couple of days ago, Mallory received an email from the Housing Authority. The reversal would be retroactive. The payments that had been withheld would be released to the landlord. Also, Mallory would begin receiving utility assistance.

“I had never even heard of that,” Mallory told me when I stopped by the other day.

Finally, the email was signed by the director of the county’s Section 8 program. A name, a phone number. That will definitely go into Malory’s manila folders.

The apartment complex manager who asked for the $800 quit in May.

As for the lawsuit, it’s hard to evict tenants these days, so landlords start building their cases as quickly as they can. Nothing personal, all business.

There are details still to be worked out, but the bottom line is Mallory can go back to living the simple but dignified life. He was in his recliner when I left. He was watching “Cheaters,” a show about unfaithful partners who get busted on-camera. Oh, the complicated lives some people choose.