Vance County families look for permanent housing after motel closure

A dozen Vance County families are still looking for permanent housing after abrupt motel closure.

Vance County families are preparing to pack their bags again for the third time in less than a month.

More than 40 families were displaced on May 7 from a Henderson motel after city leaders shut it down due to safety concerns. Since then, they have moved to a temporary county-run shelter and then, about 22 families went to nearby hotels.

Now, state funding for those new hotel rooms is running out. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services [NC DHHS] said 10 families have found safe, permanent housing. The Reach Center, a NCDHHS contractor, is working to extend the stays for the remaining families through at least Saturday, June 8.

“This extension gives families more time to secure permanent housing, as well as time for students to take their end-of-year tests at school without further disruption or distraction,” according to a news release from NCDHHS.

By Saturday, about a dozen families will need to pay for their own rooms or find other housing arrangements.

“We still have a process to continue to go down with the rest of the families...We're going to take this down to the end,” said Dasha Stutson, the project manager for the 121 Motel Project.

Elizabeth Black calls this situation "humbling." She and her children lived at the now-shutdown 121 Motel at 197 Parham Road in Henderson.

“When the front collapsed, it was like, 'what are we going to do?' Everybody else had cars; we had nothing,” she told WRAL News. “I left it all.”

While the journey has not been easy, Black said she is thankful to the those who have helped out along the way.

“They have families of their own ... their heart was big enough to come in and help out,” she said, holding back tears. “I can honestly say 'thank you.'”

Black said she has found a place to go and especially thanked Henderson Mayor Melissa Elliott, Stutson and Estelle Smith, Stutson’s assistant, for their support. Black said she understands why the constant deadlines have been put in place over the last month.

“I felt like, half of the time, it was 'we're just trying to push you.' Some people really got comfortable,” she said.

NCDHHS said it encourages the remaining families “to continue working with the nonprofits and partners that are supporting them in their housing journeys.”