NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Most of Dakeeta Powell's furniture remains upstairs in the SeaView Lofts apartment building.
"For me to leave everything in my apartment like that in two days, it’s chaotic," she said.
Powell, along with her fiancé, is one of the hundreds of residents that were forced to vacate the Newport News apartment complex on July 1, after a safety inspection found code compliance issues with the building's elevators.
Over the Independence Day holiday weekend, faith leaders from the Peninsula came together to fundraise support for those displaced families.
After the pool of money eclipsed $20,000, leaders like Rev. Dr. Tremayne Johnson converted the funds into gift cards to hand out Wednesday afternoon, exactly one week after the City of Newport News gave residents a 48-hour window to vacate the now-condemned building.
"Pastors have this odd calling when one hurts, all hurt. So whether we had members that live there or not, when we saw the situation we wanted to help," he said.
Johnson, president of the The Coalition of Concerned Clergy, noted the fundraising effort is not intended to be a one-time event, but could continue as long as there is a need among apartment tenants.
Inside a now-empty municipal building next to the Newport News City Hall, The CCOC handed out those gift cards available to every leaseholder of the SeaView Lofts apartment building.
As of Wednesday afternoon, a city spokesperson confirmed that more than 50 families, totaling more than 100 men, women and children, were being temporarily accommodated for in hotels across the Peninsula, with the city itself footing the bill.
“You can imagine losing your home in 48 hours and packing up what you have. Being in a hotel is not a dream vacation," Johnson said.
Powell's brother, Jason Skeete, said many of the families temporarily living in hotels are forming a bond because of the collective hardship.
"That’s one thing we’re trying to keep up, we’re in this together. We may not have talked to everyone in the building when we were there, but now we have this common thing," he said.
According to a court order filed by the City of Newport News, the building's owner is scheduled to appear before Newport News Circuit Court Friday, July 8 at 1 p.m.