JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Families say Saturday marked 12 days that they haven't been able to cook a hot meal or take a hot shower inside their homes at Valencia Way Apartments.
RELATED: Valencia Way neighbors without gas for nearly three weeks
Complex management said they had to turn off the gas because of issues with underground piping.
Bertha Turner recently took in her three grandchildren. She's frustrated to the point of tears.
"It feels like I'm homeless even though I pay rent. I have to go other places to bathe me and my grand kids," she said.
The white trailers you see in this parking lot at Valencia Way are portable showers. They were brought in yesterday after families went 11 days without hot water. Today is day 12 without gas in their homes, which means they can’t cook hot meals or take hot baths @ActionNewsJax pic.twitter.com/xsPM3yvToo
— Brittney Donovan (@brittneyANjax) October 12, 2019
She and other tenants got a letter Friday saying management brought in portable showers for families to use.
STORY: Hundreds of families forced to shower outside due to no hot water | RELATED: Families at Valencia Way Apartments forced to live without hot water and gas for a week
They're three trailers with stalls inside parked in the parking lot between apartment buildings.
"I don't think it's safe for my grand babies to go in there," Turner said.
Senator Audrey Gibson and Council member Garrett Dennis took a look at the showers for themselves Saturday.
"I believe it is a safety hazard to have multiple families trying to take showers in a parking lot," she said. "You have nearly 300 tenants here."
Gibson said she found out about problems at the complex Friday night. With no timeline for when the gas will be back on, she said she's alerted the surgeon general's office.
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"The management company is still collecting their rent, they're still collecting their money from HUD so I just believe they're putting profit over people," Gibson said.
As families waited for electric burners complex management said were coming Saturday, they told Action News Jax they feel helpless.
"I don't know what to do anymore. I think they should shut these apartments down and put us somewhere and fix them then bring us back because we can't continue to live like this, we just cant," Turner said.
We asked complex management again Saturday when the gas would be turned back on, and what they had to say in response to Gibson's concerns.
Garrett Dennis said Friday that he was told the problem could take up to 4 weeks to be fixed.
Action News Jax got the following statement from Valencia Way management Saturday:
"This is the information I have to share at this time.
We have ordered burners. We were expecting them today. According to the online tracking system, we should have them tomorrow. (Amazon/USPS)
Thanks for the message regarding Senator Gibson. I have followed up with the Senator's office.
Construction and engineering teams, specialized vendors and TECO Energy are focused on restoring natural gas service as safely and quickly as possible."
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