LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Nearly two weeks after the deadly tornado, hundreds of renters in Little Rock are still waiting to get back inside their apartments to collect their belongings.
We first brought you the story of their frustrations on Monday.
Structural engineers have completed their inspection of the Calais Forest apartments in Little Rock. Attorney General Tim Griffin said the next step is figuring out when tenants might be able to collect their belongings.
"We hear frustration with property owners," Griffin said. "Obviously, when we call, we sometimes get a better response than maybe a tenant did."
Renters like Catrice Haygood are frustrated with limited communication with management, while still struggling to access the belongings still in the apartments.
"I don't have any clothes or anything for work," Haygood said. "From people being helpful and donating money for me, I had to go and buy what we can on a day-to-day basis."
Haygood said she hasn't been in her apartment since before the storm on March 31.
"There's hardly any communication," Haygood said. "It's very emotional for me. I'm not there mentally."
The City of Little Rock condemned the apartment shortly after the tornado hit for safety reasons. However, it shared a statement Wednesday, which said that they've accepted the contractor's request for coordinated resident access to certain buildings.
Griffin explained that the process of deciding which buildings are safe takes time.
"This has to be decided by the city inspectors, the fire marshals, the engineers, and the property owners on an apartment-by-apartment basis," Griffin said.
Property management is now working to see what guidelines they have to follow before allowing anyone to enter, while Griffin connects tenants with cars that were towed without notice.
"We have tried to get all the facts on that to make sure those people can get their automobiles back," Griffin said.
The attorney general is also asking residents not to attempt entrance into their apartments while managers are trying to reply to hundreds of messages.
Meanwhile, still stuck out of their apartment, renters hope to reunite with their home soon.
"I have a two-year-old and I have a 10-month-old," Haygood said. "They need something to sleep in... that will mean the world to me, to get down there and get what I need."
Griffin tells us his office has received similar complaints about access at the ReNew apartments on Cantrell, and that he's working with property owners to fix the issues.