Woman And Service Dog Living In Flooded, Moldy Apartment Look For New Home

A woman on disability says she’s living in a flooded, moldy mess and can’t get out. She says her apartment in northwest Oklahoma City is in constant disrepair.

“I can't even walk outside my door and feel safe anymore,” Beth Garcia said.

Garcia lives at 'The Alora' along Northwest 63rd Street and North MacArthur Boulevard. The complex recently changed names and there are several apartments that are vacant and boarded up. Garcia says the garbage hasn’t been picked up in weeks and she just received a notice the water to the complex will be shut off in a week. However, it’s the problems inside that are causing her the most headaches.

“It's been issue after issue after issue nonstop,” Garcia said.

Garcia says she moved into her apartment in July of 2021 but six months later those issues began. First, she said a broken sprinkler system flooded her apartment. After that was fixed, she said the water problems didn’t stop.

“I was like ‘Wait a minute, why is it raining in my living room,’” she said.

Buckets are strategically placed underwater leaks in her ceiling, one of those leaks coming out of a smoke detector every time it rains. “It will soak the whole floor and I have to keep my trash can underneath it,” she said.

Now she says the mold is taking over inside her apartment and other vacant ones in her building. “It's getting old, and the office knows about it,” Garcia said.

According to a notice Garcia received from the office, the damage to her apartment is too extensive to repair and the complex does not have a replacement unit for her to move into. Garcia says she has bipolar disorder and suffers from anxiety. She has a support dog named Whitney that helps her cope. However, the two need to find another place to live.

“I'm looking for another place and it's not easy finding one especially since there are no vacancies for a one-bedroom, I’ve been looking,” she said. “I can't stand it anymore; I want out of here.”

 According to the manager of the complex, the water will not be shut off, the issue was taken care of. As for Garcia, she depends on a housing voucher and was told she would be given an extension to give her more time to find a new place to live.