After a plumbing issue caused an elevator to stop working at Oak Grove Senior Terrace Sunday evening, residents are still displaced.
More than 60 seniors living in the Oakley apartment complex were forced to find a place to stay after management deemed the conditions unsafe for residents. Now, residents are finding it hard to access necessities.
“They're not allowing anybody in the building,” said DeLois Seals, a resident at Oak Grove. “I said. ‘I got to have my medicine!’.”
Seals is an asthmatic and said she had an attack shortly after she left the complex.
Vicki Blackwell, another resident at Oak Grove, said she did not have enough time to pack before being evacuated.
“I need to get some underclothes, that's the main thing, clean underclothes, my son said he's going to go buy me some,” said Blackwell. “[My son] got me a pajama outfit last night.”
It wasn’t till Monday morning that she was able to reteive her motorized wheelchair.
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Many residents are lodging across three nearby hotels and won’t be allowed into their homes until Wednesday, at the latest.
The Contra Costa County Fire Protection District ordered a power shut-off Sunday after a clog in the plumbing caused water to overflow into a vacant apartment, Oak Grove officials said. The overflow caused the elevator to go out of service, apartment management said.
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Oak Grove has offered $300 gift cards to residents to cover the cost of spoiled rent.
Hotel stays are also being covered, and many will receive a partial credit for June’s rent.
City of Oakley officials have also been coordinating efforts to collect donations for those displaced.
“People will not be moved back in until the city is reassured that the building is safe and sanitary,” said Mayor Anissa Williams in a statement.
