CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Residents at a west Charlotte motel say they are scrambling for a place to stay after their utilities were shut off and security told them to leave.
WCNC Charlotte first reported in July that residents moved into the Lamplighter Inn after they were told it offered a transitional housing program with wraparound services. However, residents say that the program never happened.
Now, the people who moved in for help are getting kicked out. Advocates and crisis groups are trying to get their utilities back on until they can find other housing for residents.
"Right now we have nowhere else to go," Genece Wilson, a hotel resident, said.
Wilson said her stay at the hotel has been a nightmare since she moved in six months ago.
"I would give money and then they'd say, 'no receipt,' then the next day, I owe money and I don't know how I owe money when I paid," Wilson said.
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The hotel was once promised to be part of a transitional housing program.
"This whole building was supposed to be a nonprofit supportive housing program, not a hotel," Ellen Miller, a resident said.
But Miller said she never got help. The owner told WCNC Charlotte in July that he had never heard of the program and didn't have a connection to it.
Since then, the property has fallen into disarray with damage and trash that piles up outside. Miller said one resident has raw sewage coming through his bathtub pipes.
Now, the property is allegedly being sold and residents said they’re being forced out with no notice.
"We’re bathing in cold showers," Wilson added.
Advocate Apryl Lewis and Crisis Assistance Ministry are struggling to get in contact with owners, saying it’s unclear who is trying to kick people out.
"We have a known bad-acting landlord," Lewis said. "He's only gonna shut this down, redo it, and it's gonna be the same issue again."
As Lewis tries to get to the bottom of it, she said she is getting the city and fellow crisis housing groups involved.
"It's basically gonna take us as a community to fix this because we are going to have to put a law, policy in place to protect individuals from this because it's gonna continue happening," Lewis said.
WCNC Charlotte tried calling the property owner multiple times but has not heard back.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.