Greenbrier Gardens residents displaced after flood damage | TheCabin.net

More than 20 residents at Greenbrier Gardens Apartments have been displaced due to flood damage.

Senior Area Manager for Leddic Management Group Michelle Cook, who oversees the apartments, said residents living in 22 apartments must vacate their homes by Sunday.

“Despite rumors, these are not being condemned,” she told the Log Cabin Democrat on Wednesday. “Our main priority is the health and safety of residents and the apartments affected [from flood waters] are in need of repair.”

Looking into the apartments, it was clear water levels rose about one-foot off the ground, ruining carpeting and damaging furniture and residents’ other personal belongings.

Greenbrier Alderman Joyce Johnson was at the apartments helping three family members living in three separate apartments pack their belongings Wednesday.

“We need help, we need supplies out here,” she said, noting residents did not have long before having to leave their homes and find storage for their belongings.

Johnson said it was humbling to see community members stepping up to help out, but that more help was necessary to get residents moved out and relocated.

“The [Greenbrier] football team is coming out tomorrow after school lets out to help load boxes onto trailers to haul off to storage,” she said. “It’s great to see the community converge. Hopefully everyone will have a secured storage area [by Sunday].

Greenbrier resident Rita Birchfield and her husband, Chuck, volunteered their services to helping residents pack belongings Wednesday.

Rita said she knew many county residents were affected from the weekend’s flooding, but she did not fully understand the extent of some residents’ misfortune until she saw a Facebook post seeking help for Greenbrier Gardens residents Wednesday morning.

“It’s something you don’t realize until you see just how bad it is in person,” she said. “These people need help. Some of them have nowhere to go and have lost so much.”

Rita helped an elderly man pack belongings Wednesday morning. Through this encounter, she became motivated to do more and encouraged others to lend a helping hand.

“It brought tears to my eyes … he’s been staying on a pull-out couch at a flea market in Conway since all this happened,” she said wistfully. “He doesn’t have anywhere to go. A lot of these people have no idea where they will go next. We need to get the word out and find places for these people to stay.”

Rita said she also met a 54-year-old man who would need a wheelchair-accessible home after being forced to move out of his home.

Housing staff attempted to move the man to another apartment. However, that unit also began filling with water from cracks in the floor on Wednesday.

Robin Stauffer, Arkanspaws board member, also helped residents salvage furniture and pack belongings Wednesday.

Stauffer said a family contacted her about finding a home for their two cats after they learned they would need to vacate their residence.

When she got to the apartments in Greenbrier, she said she realized she needed to do more than find the cats a home.

Stauffer took to Facebook seeking help to find food and helping hands for the residents of Greenbrier Gardens Apartments.

“We’re out here helping people pack whatever can be salvaged from their homes,” she said.

Greenbrier Gardens resident Bertha Warren said she was more fortunate than others and that she planned to move in with family as the apartments undergo repairs.

“I lost my car … it filled with water,” she said. “But, I have somewhere to go and my furniture wasn’t ruined. Some people’s furniture was not as high off the floor as mine … they lost their furniture, I still have mine.”

Warren said she learned Wednesday she would have to move out of her home, although she was already mentally prepared for that scenario.

“We’re all doing the best we can at this point,” she said. “Everything happened so quickly … [there’s] so much to do so quick.”

Cook said housing staff has reached out to apartment owners in the Conway area to find homes for the displaced residents as repairs are made, noting any resident who does not have family to stay with will receive help finding a new home.

She said she was humbled by the community’s support through this tragedy.

“People are coming to us asking: ‘What can I do to help,’” she said.

Local businesses have donated food, packing supplies and boxes to residents affected by the weekend’s flooding.

Greenbrier Fire Chief Cody Fulmer said masks were provided to volunteers and residents as they packed up belongings to prevent future respiratory issues.

“We’re trying to do the best we can to help these people because not all have a place to go,” he said.

Fulmer said he was grateful for the support of local businesses in providing supplies to the residents in need.

As of press time Wednesday, a time frame for repairs was not yet available but expected to take a few months.