McDougald Terrace residents still need help
The race for the White House is in full swing and the coronavirus is spreading around the world, but residents of the McDougald Terrace community are urging the public not to forget about them.
Posted — UpdatedMcDougald Terrace is home to more than 300 people, but in the last two months over 200 of them have not been able to sleep in their own beds as carbon monoxide forced them out of their homes.
Resident Council President Ashley Canady believes the people in this community have been forgotten.
“It kind of feels that way now because a lot of stuff has slowed up,” said Canady.
Things have slowed since the media attention has focused elsewhere.
“We are going to need a lot of help when people get back because of the mental illness and the stuff that people have encountered since they’ve been gone,” said Canady.
The work continues by replacing and repairing faulty heating units and stoves.
“We are just trying to bounce back. It’s just gonna take some time,” said Canady.
Tonya Kelly lives in McDougald Terrace, but she hasn’t been to her home in nine weeks. She said even with the safety concerns of the complex, she misses her bed.
“I have a big bed, but I never got to enjoy my bed because my bed is by the window and I didn’t want to get shot while I slept, so I sleep where the pillows are,” said Kelly. “I still miss being able to have your own.”
Durham Housing Authority has put her in a hotel with her two grandchildren. It’s less than half the space she has in her apartment.
She’s uncertain of her future.
“Even though the hotel stay is going to come to an end soon, I realize that a lot of us are just getting started,” Kelly said. “We can’t get to the point where we allow this again.”
The point of where she feels like her house isn’t a home.
“I'm thinking about the inside just as well as the outside, and that’s the problem because I know it’s not safe inside and it sholl ain’t safe on the outside, so what do we do now?” she said.
Now, she wants the community to continue to help them.
“What if we can help people feel like people again,” Kelly said. “Let's help people from the inside. Let's let their house feel like a home. Maybe they’ll protect their home, start speaking up for their home when it feels like a home.”
Most importantly, Kelly and Canady want others not forget who the people of the Mac are.
“Whatever will make you feel like a human again because you are human. Even if DHA or anyone forgot about it, I ain’t forget that we’re human,” Kelly said.
“We are just as human as people in Hope Valley and we just hope people wake up and see just that,” Canady added.
United Way of the Greater Triangle used the Durham One Fund to help the residents who were forced out of their homes. So far it's raised more than $60,000, but people are still not in their homes and still need help.
“We need every dollar we can to support those families,” Eric Guckian of United Way said. “What’s happened in communities like McDougald Terrace isn’t something you respond to anecdotally. You have to do it 365 days a year.”
Until then, residents want accountability and not to be forgotten.
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