CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The residents of Cimmaron Senior Estates continue to worry and search for a place to live. Major pipe breaks require immediate maintenance, but the residents are being told conflicting information. A home health nurse that works inside with several residents said there's a lot of "bad communication."
"Different stories on what’s going to happen by three different people," said Christina Villarreal. "You have a manager, you have a corporate manager here and two other corporate guys and everyone’s just being told different things."
The property manager told residents on Saturday they need to leave so repairs on the plumbing system could happen. Greystone, the managing company, said this is a voluntary relocation. Villarreal confirms a corporate representative on site will not force anyone to leave, but said it’s in their best interest to go while repairs go on. It’s unclear if residents were told this.
"There’s so many that need help," Villarreal said, who's mother is also a resident at Cimmaron Estates. "There’s a man that was saying yesterday he might sleep in his car because he doesn’t know where to go.
A lady I just spoke to right now said that she had a reservation at a hotel, but had to cancel because it was like $550 a week. That’s what some of these patients make a month."
Management took many to local hotels to put them up for the past weekend, but nothing long term. Because this is voluntary, many have decided to stay put in their apartment units. Villarreal said they are living with no running water and mostly no food after it perished while the power was out last week.
"Nobody, like the local churches that help feed homeless that are downtown feeding the drug addicts, the homeless," said Villarreal. "Nobody’s reaching out to these seniors that have nobody. Nobody is bringing food to them. The Red Cross has not been here.
Residents were suggested to call FEMA, Red Cross, United Way and Salvation Army for help with finding shelter.
The city did deliver water for them, Tuesday morning.
"Anybody that can help out or bring the people here a hot meal or even a boxed lunch or something," Villarreal said. "That would really help out the seniors. I mean, they would really appreciate it.
A Greystone representative said an assessment of damage is still ongoing. When they know that and determine a time table, Greystone make take different actions for their residents. Residents that are still inside may be shuffled around to the units that were vacant to begin with.
One woman inside said her and her husband really can't leave. One reason is they have nowhere to go. A second reason is they're both recently injured and it's tough to travel. Yolanda asks if you can help to call her at 361-336-9093.
Technicians who assessed the impact of the storm on Cimarron Estates’ plumbing system (due to damage from re-pressurization when water was turned back on) have determined that it should be replaced. At the same time, the Salvation Army and Red Cross are assisting with temporary accommodations at local hotels for 30 days (at no cost to residents). This will enable residents to be comfortable while repairs are completed. We are truly grateful for the ongoing support from the community as we work around the clock to repair the property.
