(3 of 5)
ASIA KEPKA FOR TIME
SEPARATE PEACE: Clockwise from left, Jan, Micah, Yolanda, Taylor and Sonny Meehan-Hoo huddle over homework as Yolanda's mom rests |
•THE MEEHAN-HOOS
WHEN TWO CLANS COLLIDE
For a bright, fleeting moment, it worked, this fairy tale of American bigheartedness. In September Forrest King, a self-described "dyed-in-the-wool conservative," and his wife Marie Hancock-King opened up their home in Attleboro, Mass., to a lesbian couple with three small children and a grandmother, all of whom had fled Slidell, La., and Hurricane Katrina. The Meehan-Hoos placed their kids in school and heaped gratitude on their hosts. And King said they could stay indefinitely. TIME ran a story about the arrangement (Sept. 26, 2005), calling it a friendship "across the red-blue divide."
We spoke too soon. In October King evicted the Meehan-Hoos, and they threatened to sue him for defamation. The police got involved. Charges flew back and forth, almost as if this were a real extended family.
Just two weeks prior, the scene was hectic but warm at the King house. The children played video games. Jan and Yolanda Meehan-Hoo held hands in the kitchen and talked about how much the town had done for them. Forrest hovered nearby, chiming in occasionally, as Marie made dinner. "Forrest is like the dad of the whole family," said Jan, smiling. "Anytime I have gone to this man with a problem, he's solved it. Even things I didn't want solved."
But the unsolicited problem solving caused tension, says Kim Allard, a city councilor who helped the Meehan-Hoos settle in. Each day King would present his guests with a schedule of tasks. "He was controlling everything that was happening. And they were fully able to do for themselves," says Allard.
King claims the conflict grew out of deception. He says he discovered that the Meehan-Hoos had substantial savings, for example. "Their story kept changing," he says. "I wanted to help people who were, let's say, needy." Yolanda denies misleading anyone. "I told him, 'I am an open book.'" She says that while staying at King's house, she got a letter from her lawyer telling her she may be getting a $13,000 settlement for a lawsuit involving her mother, who had been injured on a bus years earlier. She says King learned that by opening her mail, which he denies. In any case, she says, she had pledged to help pay the bills and had given King $100.
Compounding the stress, the TIME story led to a cascade of media inquiries. When a CBS Early Show producer called, the situation imploded. King claims he did not want any more interviews in the house. "I think [Jan and Yolanda] were looking for glory," he says. The Meehan-Hoos say just the opposite. "You know how some people need attention all the time? He was one of those people," says Jan.
Everyone agrees that King ordered the Meehan-Hoos out. On Sept. 29, they moved into a hotel nearby. "We're just so disappointed and really heartbroken," Jan said. King filed a report with the police, claiming they had stolen a bed. The Meehan-Hoos say the bed had been donated. King says they have since resolved the matter.
Serena Howard runs openyourhome.com which placed the Meehan-Hoos and 4,000 other Katrina families. She says 90% have done fine. When disputes arise, though, they are often about money. "We've had hosts who don't understand why the victims are still [living] there or why they are buying $4 coffees."
The Meehan-Hoos recently moved into a three-bedroom duplex. The other day, a fire fighter dropped off some toys. A secondhand store furnished the house. "Attleboro has been wonderful to us," says Jan. The couple has decided to stay. Jan and Yolanda campaigned for Allard's re-election. Both women say they plan to find jobs after the holidays. King, meanwhile, says he would be happy to try hosting again. "I would not let this hurt my family's goodwill."