Residents of the Washington Boulevard Senior Apartments in Detroit have been facing a daunting challenge since last Friday, when an elevator failure, caused by a water main break, left many of the building's elderly inhabitants effectively stranded in their high-rise homes. The broken elevator, impairing accessibility to the upper floors of the 21-story complex, has sparked concerns about the well-being and safety of the residents, many of whom require assistance to simply move about their daily lives.
The plight of the seniors was brought further to light when FOX 2's Charlie Langton helped one of the residents, 75-year-old Roosevelt Mattison, to laboriously make his way up to his 11th-floor apartment, a feat that underlines just how essential functioning elevators are to these community members. "I don’t even want to talk about it," one resident said, describing the incident that caused the elevators to fail, according to FOX 2 Detroit.
Other residents expressed their unease to WXYZ, detailing the hard climbing they had to endure with no end in sight. "Basically, everyone is stranded in their apartments," Ronda Peete explained to WXYZ, after she narrowly escaped being caught in one of the failing elevators filled with gushing water. Another resident, Barbara Williamson, shared her concern over the health risks, as she has a heart condition, and emphasized the importance of the elevators for residents like her.
Adding to the urgency, Robert Berry, a resident on dialysis treatment, recounted to ClickOnDetroit how the outage is not just a physical burden but a serious health hurdle. "I leave at 5:30 in the morning, and I have to be there at the center," he explained, expressing concern over what could happen in an emergency. Management has since conveyed they were unaware of Berry's circumstances but are planning to assist him with his next dialysis appointment.
