LEONARDTOWN --- A family scheduled for eviction on Monday, Jan. 31 has been given a reprieve by Housing Director Dennis Nicholson.  The family will not be tossed out of a county--owned home on the outskirts of town into the cold icy weather, at least not this week.

Nicholson pointed out that the dwelling which a Leonardtown woman and her six children occupy is a county-owned house and he must balance the responsibility for safeguarding the condition of the property with the need to keep a roof over the head of a family.

In many cases it is the Housing Authority which people in need turn to when they are being evicted but in this case the tenant was being given the heave-ho by the landlord --- the Housing Authority.

Nicholson said that the family which is headed by a single mother, needs assistance from any local church or civic group who would like to carry out faith-based initiatives in assistance and mentor this family in parenting skills, proper housing keeping and chore-sharing, which are the causes of the pending eviction.

The looming eviction has been postponed for now while Nicholson seeks assistance from other agencies such as the county extension office and from private groups.
The tenant had sought help from Senator Roy Dyson over the last several weeks, which led to the intervention of Nicholson to halt the eviction, at least for the time being while assistance for the family is sought.

The mother of the family works full time as does her oldest son, a teen.