Yukon Community Steps Up To Feed, House Senior Living Residents After Flood

It's been a week since residents at a senior living center were forced out of their homes by flooding.

Folks in Yukon said it's the Oklahoma standard to make sure those residents are taken care of.

Residents said they have until March 21 to get their belongings out of the flooded apartment complex.

Related Story: Yukon Police, Firefighters Evacuate Residents At Nursing Home

“I do need help moving. They have properties in Bixby like this, but this is my home I don't want to move,” Rockey Holt said.

Local organizations said they're accepting donations to help meet the immediate needs of folks looking in need of help following the flooding.

“We're raising money to get them hotel rooms until they can find a permanent place to stay,” Carlen Otts with Community Helpers said.

Quarter Campaign said they've raised enough money to help residents stay in a hotel for another week. The group along with the nonprofit, Community Helpers raised $700 during a donation-based yard sale.

Along with housing, the group is helping with laundry and food. Stephanie Werpechowski said she's worked with several of the residents throughout the years and knew she had to help.

“I brought them homemade spaghetti and salad and garlic bread for lunch. They're my family. They treat my kids like they're grandkids and they've done so much for them through the years,” Werpechowski said.

The property managers released a statement saying,

“On behalf of Seldin, LLC and Overland Property Group, LLC we express our sincerest thoughts to our wonderful residents of Residence at Yukon Hills during this challenging time. We have been working diligently with the regulatory agencies, insurance company, management, and ownership to determine the next steps and begin the process of restoring the property.

As with any substantial impact situation, there have been significant communication and coordination efforts happening behind the scenes to establish a project plan. We met today with all residents to share the status, this is a fluid situation, and we will continue to provide periodic updates to each resident on the progress and timeline throughout the repair and reconstruction process.

Our goal is to complete repairs in as condensed time as possible while also maintaining the high standards our firms require. We will be collaborating with insurance, construction, and supply partners to complete each stage. Upon completion of all work, each resident will have the opportunity to return to their home and it is our hope all will choose to remain residents of Residence at Yukon Hills. Our residents are vital to our community, and we look forward to having them back in their homes.”

Werpechowski said that's not enough.

“It's heart-crushing to know that a company that I found kind of like a family situation for a while is now putting them on the back burner. They said that they're doing these things like communicating, bringing them food, and it's not them at all it's the community and Yukon is amazing for that,” Werpechowski said.