No kitchen, less space. How a displaced Charlotte senior copes with new life in hotel.
For the past several months, Betty Johnson has had to grapple with change.
Change to what she eats. Change to when she wakes up. Change to where she rests her head.
Since December, Johnson has lived in a modest hotel room inside the Fairfield Inn by Mariott Northlake. It is a stark difference from her spacious two-bedroom unit with a full kitchen and refrigerator at Magnolia Senior Apartments — a place she used to call home.
Forced to become accustomed to a new routine and lifestyle, she is one of 55 residents from the Beatties Ford Road senior complex displaced after a Christmas Day water leak flooded several units. As Johnson navigates this sudden life change, it’s her spirituality and family helping her to remain strong, she says.
“I have my faith and my trust in God,” Johnson, 69, told The Charlotte Observer. “If I didn’t have any of that I really don’t know.”
Last Saturday, Johnson’s grandson helped pack the remaining belongings left in her apartment. Her daughter also brings meals to the hotel when she can.
Johnson, who has lived at Magnolia since 2020, is one of nearly 40 residents whose leases will be terminated March 31 because of the necessary repairs. She shared that this uncertain future worries her.
Bill Bolstad, executive director of Mosaic Development Group, which oversees the property, has said residents will be able to return to their units once repairs are completed. But there is still no timeline on when the building will be fully restored, Bolstad said.
“I try not to be so negative about it because it really doesn’t do any good,” Johnson said. “But it doesn’t seem they have our interest at heart.”
Johnson makes the best of it with a mini-fridge, and does microwavable dinners or fast food near the hotel on Harris Corners Parkway. Instead of a kitchen sink, the bathroom is where she washes containers and utensils used for meals. Because she is diabetic, Johnson is worried about her health.
“I have nowhere to even cook a meal,” Johnson said. “I don’t think anybody’s considering people’s health conditions.”
Some nights can be difficult to sleep, Johnson said. Recently she woke up at 4 a.m. to the sound of doors shutting along her hallway. She decided to stay up to get ready for her part-time job with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. It’s not her only gig: Johnson also works part time at Food Lion.
Her hotel is a bit farther from her job than when she lived in Magnolia, she said. She must rise at 6 a.m., earlier than normal, to make the drive to work on time.
Johnson misses her home.
“They don’t understand what they put people through when they prolong this,” she said.
New to everybody
Carol Hardison, executive director of Crisis Assistance Ministry, a nonprofit helping the seniors, said caseworkers are working with residents to locate affordable housing.
By the month’s end another 10 could move out of the hotels. By the end of April, some seniors could also move back to their units that were not damaged, she said.
“We don’t have a plan for those who need to stay beyond April yet but we are working on that,” Hardison said.
Janette Kinard, executive director of Champion House of Care, another nonprofitassisting the seniors, said she continues to hold weekly meetings with seniors. In her 20-year experience she had not seen a situation like what happened at Magnolia Senior Apartments unfold, she said.
“This is all new to everybody,” Kinard said.
While this month the nonprofits’ focus is to get as many into housing, by mid-April, they will review how many seniors remain. At that time they could consolidate the seniors dispersed across several hotels to one location, she said.
This could help the nonprofits focus on one location, she said. It could also help the seniors not feel alone in their circumstances.
“It’s easier when you have somebody else talk to,” Kinard said.
Housing search
At work Johnson tries to maintain a positive attitude, she said. On Fridays she stops at the hotel before heading to her second job. She said she tries to remain sociable at work despite her hardships.
Between jobs and getting her belongings in storage she’s also hard at work searching for a new home, Johnson said. The task has posed its own challenges, she added.
Her rent was expected to be around $810 this year. A recent apartment opening she found wanted $1,200 for a one bedroom, she said. It’s the kind of prices she’s seen since starting her own search for housing.
“I’m not going to put myself in a bind,” Johnson said.
Johnson said, for now, she is not planning to return to Magnolia Senior Apartments. She always has paid her rent on time and it was disappointing to see her and her fellow seniors treated like this, she said.
“I know (God’s) got the last say and He’s in control,” Johnson said. “What He has for me is for me, and I’m going to get it regardless.”
This story was originally published March 16, 2023 at 7:00 AM.
