Tina Degree is a grandmother, a PCA and a beloved community activist who always gives 1000% and looks out for everyone. She and her children and grandchildren have lived in the same apartment for over thirteen years, working together to make it into a true home where everyone is welcome and nurtured. Tina founded Community Advocates for Justice and Equality (CAJE) in the apartment’s kitchen, where her toddler-aged grandchildren play.
Tina’s efforts to maintain not just her own unit, but the entire building and yard is especially notable because the property was a former plantation. It is currently owned and managed by Mikaela Hondros-McCarthy, and her mother Angela Hondros-McCarthy. The Hondros-McCarthy family, who own over 10 properties in Lowell, have consistently neglected the property and allowed dangerous conditions to fester, exposing Tina and her grandchildren to numerous hazards. Over the years, the Hondros-McCarthys have raised the rent, but done nothing to make the unit safer for Tina and her grandchildren. Tina has requested repairs to bring the unit up to code, but was ignored or met with hostility. Without any options, Tina has paid out of pocket for repairs or done them herself, even though keeping Tina’s unit compliant with safety codes is the landlord’s responsibility.
In March 2025, Hondros-McCarthy left an electrical cord hanging from the ceiling in an inadequately lit basement, and Tina tripped over it, falling down the stairs. Tina’s injuries were so severe that she required surgery, and she is still struggling to regain mobility. The mangled nerves and tendons in her shoulder and hand have left her unable to work. Normally, when someone is injured as a result of the landlord’s negligence, homeowner’s insurance covers their medical expenses and lost wages. However, Mikaela had failed to maintain the state-required homeowner’s insurance, letting her policy lapse. This negligence meant that Tina was not covered, with no relief in sight. Mikaela attempted to lie about having insurance, but has still refused to provide Tina’s lawyers with any details or proof. At the end of April 2025, with mounting expenses from her injuries, Tina filed papers with the court.
In response – and in direct violation of state law prohibiting retaliatory evictions – the Hondros-McCarthys moved to evict Tina. Tina has fought the eviction in court, but was denied the opportunity to speak and provide evidence on her own behalf. Meanwhile, the Hondros-McCarthys used their money, power and influence to enact vengeance on Tina for daring to speak up about hazards she and her family faced. Tina’s eviction date is set for 5/13/2026.
Like many low income families, Tina has no savings and nowhere to go. Massachusett’s cost of living is the second highest in the nation, in large part due to high housing costs and the dearth of affordable housing. The growing housing crisis disproportionately impacts BIPOC like Tina, and residents of gateway cities like Lowell. Nationally, over 50% of evictions targeted Black individuals, who comprise only 18.6% of all renters. In Massachusetts, Black women and their families are almost 2.5 times more likely to face eviction, and almost 30% of Black children under age 6 have faced evictions, almost triple the rate for white children. Eviction is known to have long-term physical and emotional impacts on children, causing trauma and interrupting their education and sense of community and belonging, and we can't let this happen to Tina's grandchildren.
Tina’s community is fighting the eviction, and fighting to help Tina and her grandchildren stay housed. Will you help us? Tina gives so readily to everyone, and its time to give back to her and her family.
Funds raised will help pay Tina’s legal costs as she fights the unfair eviction, and help her with moving costs and necessities as she finds a new place to make into a home for her grandchildren, and all her many loved ones.