Volunteers assemble moving trucks, housing and food for displaced Legacy Crossing residents

By Sarah Fili

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — There is help available for tenants at Legacy Crossing.

Moving truck after moving truck lined up outside apartments at Legacy Crossing Monday.

Strangers stepped in to help.

“As soon as we heard this hit the news today, we went down to U-Haul. Omaha Task Force and County Security, we just rented as many as we could. We got a bunch of volunteers and we drove down here and see who needed help,” said Unique Wilson.

Wilson said people who need can help can fill out this google form linked here or call (402) 235-1640 or (402) 957-260.

More than 160 people woke up to a knock on their door to get out by 5 p.m.

“Legacy Crossing has been inspected, and they didn’t pass inspection. It’s not safe to live here. And that we only have, like, hours that we would have to vacate,” said Marion Penigar, a tenant.

“Total shock, fear, everything. We’ve got a cat and, you know, shelters don’t take cats. So but we did get lucky and we got some help.”

They stuffed what they could into trash bags and braved the frigid temperatures to pack.

Some got hotels or moving vouchers from Heartland Family Services. That organization’s phone number is 402-552-7400. Many residents said they would take off days from work to try to secure new housing, which would impact them financially.

“Who wants to go through this six days before Christmas?” said Floresha Thomas, a tenant.

Thomas said her apartment building is the one that caught fire last week, but she said the problems began before that.

“I went without heat for almost a month back in November. Then after that, they ended up, they never fixed my fire door to my hallway. So, when the fire happened it filled my apartment with smoke and damaged my furniture and all my belongings,” Thomas said.

Others said requests to maintenance went unanswered as sewage seeped up from sinks and ceilings fell to the floor.

“A lot of bugs that would come into, I don’t know, like, if it was from apartments or and there was mold on the ceilings,” said Reata Hoy

Hoy said she recently moved to Omaha and feels helpless. She and her sister will spend the night in a Mariott provided by Heartland Family Service.

“I’m overwhelmed, kind of stressed out now. I don’t know where I’m going to go from here. So I moved up here away from my home, and I have no family around here,” Hoy said.

Volunteers felt compelled to come.

“To try to help these people that have been put in an impossible position. Obviously, with Christmas right around the corner. People have already spent a lot of money, don’t have a lot of money, and they have to be out of here by a certain amount of time,” Wilson said.

Two women collected donations to provide hot meals from Hy-Vee across the street for those displaced. Click here to link up with them. Others brought pizza.

“If this was us, we would want help so we’re just out here helping,” a mover said.

Tenants said the community’s support helped on a difficult day.

“I just. I wish that they could have been another way,” Penigar said.

Heartland Family Services is providing housing help.

The Omaha Community Foundation has created the Legacy Crossing Relief Fund to help tenants as well, click here to access that.

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