NEW PORT RICHEY, Fla — Frances Gaudeux needs a new air conditioning unit.
“You’ll see it handing off the wall,” she said.
Other homes at HarborView Mobile Manor in New Port Richey are still without power, and some have developed mold.
“Yeah, I’ve got family members yelling at me that I gotta get out of here,” said James Wall Jr.
But there’s been an improvement here since we visited last week.
Friday, some people showed us the eviction letters they were getting for homes that weren’t even livable.
“Helene was September 26th. Thirteen days later we had Milton. Ok, seven days later I got an eviction notice,” said Wall Jr.
Last week, there were still piles of debris on many streets.
I contacted Equity LifeStyle Properties in Chicago, and they told me those demand letters should not have been sent and that they “sincerely apologize for this oversight in our process.”
They say they are now working with each resident on a case-by-case basis.
When it came to those piles of storm debris, the park owners said that after some confusion over who was responsible for picking up the trash, they had it done, and on Monday, it was all gone.
What to do with mobile home regulations can be a difficult maze to navigate but New Port Richey city leaders came here Sunday and the city manager tells me they learned more about how to help the people here.
Some have received FEMA money for what they lost, and they are forced to leave their homes and find somewhere else to live.
“You have some days when you cry and some days when you’re happy. You have to have a lot of gratitude for still being here on Earth and things gotta work out in some way,” said Julie Levesque.
"It doesn't make any sense."
FEMA guidelines for debris removal do not include condos or condominiums because they are considered commercial enterprises. A public information officer for the City of Clearwater told ABC Action News, "We are not removing debris from condos; we do consider them commercial."
