THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WTXL) — Thomas County's housing situation has forced one senior to live in unsafe conditions.
- A lifelong Barwick resident has been living for years in a home without electricity, running water, or a bathroom because she cannot afford safer housing.
- A neighbor stepped in to find her a trailer, but the major repair costs show how limited and expensive senior housing options are in rural Thomas County.
- Watch the video below to see why she's in the situation and how you can help.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
From the outside, this looks like just another empty house but inside, a senior woman has been trying to survive without power, water, or a bathroom.
“I need to be in before it gets cold. I don't want to freeze,” said Barwick senior Mary Daniels.
I'm seeing how limited housing options in rural Thomas County are forcing seniors into unsafe living conditions and what the community is doing to help.
“So we were out looking for people, but then we started seeing needs, like this house here. We had no idea that someone was actually living in it, and it broke our heart,” said neighbor Jake Conway.
Across Thomas County, there are thousands of old homes that appear abandoned.
Many are considered unlivable because of missing utilities, structural damage, or safety hazards.
But as housing insecurity grows, seniors like Mary Daniels are being forced to live in places like this, not because they want to, but because they have no other option.
“It's falling in, raining in. No bathroom, no bathtub, no supper time, no nothing,” said Daniels.
Mary Daniels is 61 years old and has lived in Barwick her entire life.
She worked in the fields for years, and now deals with hearing problems and limited mobility, relying on a cane to get around.
For the past six years, this red house, built in 1948, has been her home, despite having no electricity, no running water, no windows, and damage made worse by storms and Hurricane Helene.
“No electricity. The windows are busted out. There's no door. So, I mean, anybody could walk in. Animals could walk in. And she's sleeping in there. There's no heat. There's no electricity. So, I mean, it's like living in a tent, basically, in the middle of December,” said Conway.
Conway has been trying to help Mary find safer housing.
He and Mary’s sister found a trailer on Facebook Marketplace, hoping it could become her new home.
But the trailer has major problems, including large holes in the floor and ceiling and fixing it would cost more than buying a new one.
“They're trying to gut out the entire thing, and there's just stuff everywhere. It's old. I mean, even if they put it together, I just feel like the amount of money going into it is going to be more than it would cost just to have a new one. That’s the goal,” said Conway.
And through all of this, Miss Mary says what she wants most is something simple, a safe place she can call home.
“They can come and visit and go. And I'm going to get a porch built,” said Daniels.
Daniels is under the impression that she could move into this trailer within the next couple of weeks, but Jake says, without help from the community or the city, making it livable will be difficult.
Conway organizes street feeds in Barwick and has been trying to help raise funds to help her out.
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