NEW ORLEANS — After being evacuated last week from their homes, about 600 seniors will slowly be brought back to their senior living facilities in New Orleans.
"We're going to make our timeline to get them back as soon as possible, based on the livability of the facility they were in," said Colin Arnold.
They were taken to emergency shelters in North Louisiana in the aftermath of Hurricane Ida because of unsafe conditions inside their privately ran facilities. Five people died. Nine properties were forced to close, leading to thorough inspections from the city.
"We were looking for things that either were or would become problems to either life safety or quality of life," said Peter Bowen.
Deputy Administrative Officer Peter Bowen says inspections revealed more issues, like deferred maintenance and work done without permits.
"At the first site we went to, the pump room door had been painted shut, the fire prevention officer that was with us, when he tried to pull it open, the door handle ripped off. Clearly, no one has been in there," said Peter Bowen.
There were also issues with resident room windows painted shut. Bowen says as of Wednesday afternoon, eight of the nine facilities were cleared to reopen, and the city will act on all code violations.
"First priority is making sure folks come home safely, but it is absolutely a top priority to hold people accountable and to make sure that folks maintain their buildings for all of our residents," said Peter Bowen.
City leaders say part of the chaos in getting seniors evacuated stemmed from management not being on-site and having no way to reach them. Not wanting to go through that again, Mayor LaToya Cantrell wants a city-wide rental registry.
"It is just really for us to have information so that when we get reports that come directly to us that we know who the owner is and can respond in a timely manner," said Mayor Cantrell.
As city leaders work to bring seniors home, the hope is they return to a place better than how they left it.