BURKE COUNTY, N.C. — A former elementary school in Burke County has become home to people with nowhere else to go. Now, the fire marshal has deemed the building unsafe.
The shelter is on George Hildebran School Road in Connelly Springs. Channel 9′s Dave Faherty said there are warning signs for people not to go inside, saying “the structure is unsafe.”
According to pastor Tommy Laivwij, nine families, from the Marshall Islands, have struggled to get by and couldn’t pay rent. The Islands are in the Pacific where nearly a third of the population lives in poverty.
“If they move them out, I don’t know what will happen. There’s no place for them to stay,” Laivwij said.
>> In the video at the top of the page, Faherty learns more about the safety concerns that led to the fire marshal shutting it down.
(WATCH BELOW: Nonprofit helps families stay housed, keep heat on in cooler weather)
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