MILWAUKEE — Barbara Brown does not know where she'll be sleeping after Friday.
The 64-year-old is one of more than 40 residents displaced from apartment buildings by 23rd and Michigan streets after Milwaukee officials ordered the properties vacated over unsafe living conditions two weeks ago.
Displaced Milwaukee tenants face months-long wait to return home
Since then, Brown has stayed with family members and in a hotel with help from her church. But that assistance is ending, leaving her uncertain about what comes next.
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“The perfect situation is if I knew where I was going, or if I was going somewhere where I can call home,” Brown said.
Brown said the last two weeks have been marked by uncertainty and sleepless nights.
“I could lay down and close my eyes, but not for long because there goes those bad thoughts,” Brown said. “There goes that homelessness. Girl, you ain't got nowhere to go.”
The buildings are owned by S2 Properties, a company owned by Milwaukee landlord Sam Stair. Smart Asset Realty manages the properties on the owner's behalf.
Property management says residents may have a lengthy wait before they are allowed to return.
In a phone interview Thursday, Adam McCarthy of Smart Asset Realty said what was initially believed to be a two-week process could take about three months to complete. He estimated the project would cost well over $100,000 and said the scope of work expanded beyond what was originally anticipated.
McCarthy said Smart Asset has applied for an occupancy permit and that work continues on the property. However, city officials have said residents cannot return until required repairs are completed, inspected and approved.
McCarthy also said the company believes electrical-system tampering by an occupant helped trigger the conditions that ultimately led to the city's vacate order. City officials and We Energies previously identified electrical safety concerns at the property.
According to McCarthy, many displaced residents have either been rehoused or offered alternative housing options. He said residents who secured housing elsewhere received prorated rent credits and, in many cases, the return of their security deposits.
Brown said she was offered another apartment but could not afford it on her fixed income.
“Something I couldn't afford,” she said.
After nearly five years in her apartment, Brown said she is still struggling to accept what happened.
“I didn't do this, and I didn't deserve this,” Brown said. “I paid my rent on time for almost five years, just for them to tell me you got 30 minutes to get up out of here.”
For now, Brown continues searching for a permanent place to stay while waiting to learn when, or if, she will be able to return home.
“I know who holds our future,” Brown said. “But I don't know what the future holds.”
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