STATESBORO, Ga. () — A month after being urged to vacate, residents remain at The Vault apartments, a complex declared structurally unsafe by management.
“They informed us that we needed to leave, but since we’ve paid for our stay, we’re determined to make the most of it,” commented resident Timnit West.
Whenever visited the complex Friday we observed about two dozen cars parked there, but there is no official headcount of who’s left.
“Every time they visit, it’s as if they’re aware we should have left, yet they’ve provided no concrete directive; they’re simply continuing to tally numbers,” West added.
According to Bulloch VOAD, a volunteer group active during disasters, they, along with Bulloch County Emergency Management connected around 150 people to housing resources – through the university – hotels, other apartments and charitable organizations.
“It was just a matter of helping them steer into their options,” Vice Chair of Bulloch VOAD Len Fatica said. “When you get a notice like that, when it’s such short term, you kind of go into panic mode… It’s like oh my god what am I going to do.”
Residents that talked to on and off camera said they’ve struggled finding somewhere affordable to go. West said she chose to treat management’s unofficial eviction notice in April as the real thing – with a 30-day deadline.
“I had my work and school then I had my life so it was like I had to focus and lock in with finals and everything and I knew one way or another I would find somewhere to stay,” said West.
She’s in the process of moving out now. She said there’s power and water – just no WiFi and said they haven’t heard any updates from management.
“Some friends were saying that they were going to follow up with a lawsuit, but we’ve been kind of just waiting to hear some news from that,” said West.
The City of Statesboro reached out to the property owners last Friday for an update on their plans to renovate or sell. They haven’t heard back yet.
