Residents of Hope Heights Tower, a Downtown Memphis high-rise for seniors and people with disabilities, say management gave them just 15 minutes to grab their clothes and leave the building after a flooding issue, and never told them when they could come back. Tenant Joseph Crittenden said the abrupt announcement shocked him, and that he ended up needing to be taken to the hospital afterward.
Crittenden told WREG that residents were given 15 minutes to gather belongings and were instructed not to return until the matter was resolved, and that Hope Heights did not offer him another room or a motel while he was displaced. With nowhere else to go once he was released from the hospital, Crittenden said he called on city officials to intervene.
Hope Heights Tower managers pointed to a flooding issue as the reason for the evacuation order, but tenants say they were never given a letter or any information spelling out when they would be allowed back inside, according to the report. By phone on August 20, Hope Heights Tower managers told WREG the flooding issue had been resolved, though it’s unclear from that statement whether displaced residents were formally notified they could return.
Reporters Turned Away at the Door
When WREG reporters went to Hope Heights seeking answers, a staff member at the main office refused to speak with them. A person who identified themselves as a Hope Heights employee told reporter Katelyn Barker she was not authorized to be there, and another unidentified employee at the property slammed the door on the WREG crew…