HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Weeks after a fire displaced 60 residents of the Darby House apartments, a new recovery fund is buying them more time — but the search for affordable housing remains a struggle.
Carol Chivaro has been through a hotel stay, a move to an extended stay at Woodbridge Suites in Ashland, and hours on the phone searching for a permanent place to live since the fire.
"It's a very scary situation," Chivaro said. "I've never been in something like this before,"
Despite the hardship, she says she is counting her blessings.
"As far as not having a place to live, we're fine. We're okay, and I've got to thank God for that," Chivaro said. "It's the long term that I'm worried about.
But the search for affordable permanent housing has taken a toll. Chivaro says the prices she has encountered have been far out of reach.
"I'm tired and I'm very stressed," Chivaro said. "I just wish it were over and I could find an apartment that I can afford. They just keep telling me thousands of dollars. $1300, $1500. I just talked to a lady, $3000 a month for a one-bedroom apartment ... $3000 dollars. You heard what I said, I told her I can't afford that."
Earlier this week, Chivaro says she and other residents learned they had until Friday to find permanent housing before Darby House would stop covering the cost of their extended stays.
"I said, where are we supposed to go Friday ... where are they gonna take us?" Chivaro said.
After CBS 6 reached out to Homes for America, the company behind Darby House, asking about the end of extended stay funding, the company responded with a memo stating that thanks to the combined efforts of the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg, nonprofit partners, Henrico County, and an anonymous donor, a Darby House Recovery Fund has been created to support residents currently living at extended stays through the end of the month.
"I'm glad they've given us the extended time because we need the time," Chivaro said. "It's been hard."
The memo states the extension has a hard cutoff after the 31st, and that residents must contact Housing Opportunities Unlimited to begin the process of accessing permanent housing.
Chivaro says the extension is a start, but she remains worried about what comes next.
"I just want to know what's going to happen at the end of the month if we still don't have an apartment," Chivaro said. "I know they can't do it forever, and I understand that ... but what can we do? I'm praying that I have an apartment within the next few weeks."
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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