SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Marcie Pacheco knows all too well what it means to have a roof over her head when she goes to sleep at night.
“I was unhoused for 5 years on the streets,” Pacheco, a Valley Vista resident, said. “We've come out of homelessness, and we want a chance to be able to have growth.”
She and others have that place to call home at the Valley Vista apartments in Mission Valley.
But for more than two weeks, instead of the stability of the apartments, she’s been staying here at this motel off the 805 in Clairemont.
“There was a fire in our building on the 4th floor above, above 32 units that got ruined because of it, because of the sprinklers going off,” Pacheco said.
The Housing Commission told ABC 10News 31 units were impacted by the sprinkler system that went off during the fire that occurred on Oct. 11.
Pacheco said, aside from worries about damage to the apartments, she and others said there's been a lack of communication from the Housing Commission.
“We have zero communication as what's going on with any of our belongings, anything that's going on with the fire repairs," Pacheco said.
ABC 10News brought these concerns to the President and CEO of the Housing Commission, Lisa Jones.
“So, we've made it clear to residents that none of their belongings are going anywhere,” Jones said. “We never dispose of people's belongings. We haven't set full timelines. We're thinking about 3 to 4 weeks. It's going to depend on the unit. Some units may have more damage than others, so it's hard to give folks a timeline while we go through remediation.”
Jones also told ABC 10News the impacted residents are being provided a 24-hour services line and food deliveries as they work on that remediation.
“I understand that there is a lot of anxiety, but that doesn't necessarily mean that communication isn't happening. It's just that it may not be the communication. That they want to hear, which is, can I come back? Well, probably not yet,” Jones said.
Pacheco said she hopes they can return to the apartment soon.
“I just want a more healthy environment. I think more communication would help that a lot,” Pacheco said.
