DOUGLAS, Ga. (WALB) - Residents at Travelers Inn and Suites in Douglas say they were forced to leave what they considered home with little notice after the city of Douglas deemed the property uninhabitable.

I spoke with multiple residents who say they were told they had just days to vacate the motel. Some residents said they had already paid February rent without knowing the closure was coming.

One resident says the situation quickly became unsafe.

“They shut the lights off, so I had to move in with a friend,” the resident said. “I can’t be staying there with no lights with my health problems. I have heart failure, only about 19 percent of my heart is functioning. Something as simple as a cold could put me in the ICU.”

Residents say the closure has only added pressure in a city already facing a housing shortage. Douglas has acknowledged a lack of quality, affordable, and available workforce housing and is working to address the issue through new residential developments, the first in more than 40 years, along with state-funded rehabilitation projects for substandard housing.

However, residents affected by the motel closure say those long-term efforts do not help their immediate situation. Several tell WALB they feel being offered warming shelters after being displaced was “a slap in the face,” saying they lost stable housing and, in some cases, money they had already paid toward rent.

The City of Douglas released the following statement regarding the closure:

“The property was found to have significant code violations that posed both health and structural hazards to the occupants. Code enforcement went out as a courtesy to notify the occupants face to face. The owner will be tasked with removal of occupants.

Occupants were advised of several local resources that may be able to assist them, but we could not speak on behalf of those organizations. Occupants were advised of several warming stations in the area.”

Residents say despite being advised of resources, many were unable to secure immediate housing and remain concerned about what comes next, including whether they will recover rent money already paid.

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