MILWAUKEE — Temporary housing and stipends for the former tenants of The Community Within the Corridor (CWC) apartments came to an end on Friday.
Natasha Edwards packed up her family and things from a hotel on Milwaukee's west side, the second hotel she's lived in since the apartments were evacuated in late March.
"If I have to sleep out in the back of the car, it is what it is," said Edwards, who plans to split up her children at family members' homes where there is space available.
Edwards said other people in the same hotel are also uncertain about where they'll stay. Another tenant, whose car was full of her belongings, told TMJ4's Bruce Harrison she doesn't have a plan yet.
Edwards said she's had to cut work hours due to the living situation, and it's made commutes difficult, if not impossible for her kids' school and other activities.
"When we would go places, money was very restricted. For my son's birthday, we usually go to Wisconsin Dells. But instead, we camped out in my [older] son's yard," said Edwards.
In late March, the Milwaukee Public Health Department ordered the evacuation of around 150 people from the east block of the apartments, a new affordable housing development at 32nd and Center.
That came after the State Department of Natural Resources alerted the City to dangerous levels of trichloroethylene, or TCE, a known carcinogen.
From the evacuation through Friday, the CWC developers paid for tenants to stay in hotels and other temporary housing. They also offered stipends for food and transportation and returned all rent payments made by tenants.
The CWC said it was working to eliminate the health risk and move residents back in as soon as possible. But last month, the DNR said a return would be unlikely until next winter at the earliest. The CWC then offered tenants the chance to terminate their lease for $5,000 and help to find new permanent housing.
Edwards said she didn't take the deal.
"I felt like the terms of the agreement made it seem as though if something happen to someone in the future, that would be a problem. Typically with TCE being a carcinogen, I didn't think that was fair for my kids," said Edwards.
According to local law firm Barton Cerjack S.C., who's filed a class action lawsuit against CWC on behalf of the tenants, the deal also includes a provision that tenants can't sue. Barton Cerjack said that even applies if someone gets sick from TCE.
The lawsuit alleges that CWC moved in tenants too soon, putting profit over safety. The DNR also said it urged CWC to delay move-ins until it had properly tested a system to mitigate the risk of TCE.
The CWC said when it moved people in, the system was working properly.
In a statement Friday, the CWC said it will continue to help tenants find new housing. It also said residents have until September 1 to remove their remaining belongings from the apartments. According to CWC, a toxicologist confirmed those items will not put people at risk of TCE.
Read the CWC's full statement below:
"As communicated to residents of the Community Within the Corridor (CWC) on June 16, today — July 14 — is the deadline for residents to vacate temporary hotel housing. Stipends and reimbursements for housing and food paid by CWC since March end today as well. Residents will be able to move belongings out of their apartments in the CWC East Block until Sept. 1. Residents will continue to have access to the services of Community Advocates and TEAM Property Management, who are available to assist residents with their next housing arrangements. The CWC team has been actively working to identify additional programs and services that can help with individuals’ long-term housing needs.
While this situation has been frustrating for all of the impacted residents, CWC has made every effort to accommodate and support resident needs in addition to covering temporary housing, food, and transportation costs. These efforts include securing access to free phones and tablets, family memberships to the Mary Ryan Boys & Girls Club of Greater Milwaukee, and access to mental health services.
CWC is continuing to work in collaboration with the state DNR, City of Milwaukee, and environmental engineers to complete remediation efforts. We are encouraged by recent test results showing almost all units are below the DNR’s TCE vapor action levels.
As we’ve stated before, the CWC ownership group has intentionally invested in this community because we believe in the potential of this neighborhood and the viability of this property in meeting the housing, recreation, and business needs of this under-served population. Moving forward, we will continue to work to meet our goal of having CWC play a significant role in enhancing the surrounding community."
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