Some struggling to find permanent homes after Memorial Day tornadoes

Credit: DaytonDailyNews

It’s been six weeks since 15 tornadoes hit the Miami Valley, and people are still trying to find permanent homes.

One Dayton woman has been living in an Englewood motel with her daughter, roommate and two cats since the Memorial Day tornadoes destroyed her apartment.

“I just don’t know what’s going to happen next. I just don’t know what to do,” Virginia Martin said. “Things are just not good.”

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Martin says the last six weeks have been a struggle living in a Motel 6 and with trying to find somewhere else affordable to live.

“You don’t have the tables to prep on. You don’t have a refrigerator. I’m buying ice every other day to put in a cooler to keep what little bit of things we can buy.”

The apartment Virginia Martin lived in.

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Trying to find a more permanent place to live seems like one of the biggest struggles.

“Most of them are full. Some are way beyond my price range,” Martin said. “It was people next to us and half of Trotwood, all over, looking for places to live. They seem to get there before I do.”

>> RELATED: Miami Valley Tornadoes 2019

Martin has heard of openings in the fall, but that’s a long way away.

“I don’t want to be in a hotel till the end of September. I don’t think my nerves can handle it.”

Another struggle is that Martin has over $10,000 in damage to her car, but fortunately, she has insurance covering both that and the motel stay.

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