FLORENCE, Ky. — Annette Powell pulls the dark mesh screen down on her small SUV’s window. Inside her vehicle, there’s a fan tied to the roof. Two gallon jugs of water sit on the floorboard beside her.
Behind Powell’s seat, there’s a litter box.
The 47-year-old is parked under a tree outside a baseball stadium in Florence. She likes it there because she can see the storage unit she and her mother share. She starts crying while talking about it.
“Our stuff is there. Our home is there," she said. "Everything we have left in the world."
Powell lives in her car — and has since April. In the car, her 13 cats live with her. They have collars with name tags, and one sits on the steering wheel. She kisses its head.
So Powell spends her days driving from parking lot to parking lot, looking for shade to keep her animals cool. Earlier this month, animal control officials charged Powell with 26 code violations for outdated vaccines and improper living conditions for the pets.
“I actually looked at the guy and said 'what about me?'” Powell said.
She sobbed, and then she screamed: “Help me!”
In Burlington, Colleen Bray runs Boone County Animal Control. She says county officials tried to help Powell first. Another official said they even helped connect her with possible housing. But she couldn't keep the cats.
“We always start out trying to assist and get resources to any individual that is having an issue with their pet,” Bray told WCPO. “Unfortunately, the housing options are diminished the more animals or more pets that they have.”
When Powell appeared in court to face the charges, she says she asked for a public defender. The judge denied her request.
"It can be very confusing," said Eric K. Van Santen, directing attorney for the Department of Public Advocacy. “In this situation, having an attorney come in with her is going to help her immensely — rather than just being run over by the system.”
Van Santen oversees the public defender program for several counties in Northern Kentucky. He said a judge can appoint a public defender for someone charged with an ordinance violation, but lawyers aren't often provided in cases that won't likely result in jail time.
Experts we spoke to say this is a situation where court intervention doesn't help solve the problem.
“The court may be able to remove the animals, but it doesn't put a roof over her head,” said Marcia Ziegler, an assistant professor of law at Northern Kentucky University. “It’s a sad situation the system doesn't address very well."
Outside of Powell's car on Wednesday morning, she said it plainly. She'll never get rid of her cats. Not willingly. And she said this experience has made her feel less than human.
“We’re not dirt," Powell said. "We were one paycheck away, and we are trying to figure out how to pull ourselves out of it."
Asked about the future, Powell cries.
“I try to be hopeful, but I’m scared,” she said.
The day after this story was originally published, Boone County officials told us they took another look at Powell's case because of our reporting. Now, officials say she will be given free legal help at her next court appearance.
A spokeswoman also told us it is likely her case will be continued until she finds housing. Otherwise, she could face several fines — fines she will struggle to pay.
