CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A mother and son are recovering in the ICU after their apartment caught fire over the weekend.
The Charlotte Fire Department says an unattended candle sparked flames in their unit at the Tanglewood Apartments. It’s a property WCNC Charlotte has covered in recent weeks for poor living conditions and sudden evictions.
A woman close to the fire victims told WCNC Charlotte they lost everything in the fire and have a long road of recovery ahead of them. On top of that, they’re getting evicted and have to be out by the end of the month.
"They're an awesome family," Janette Kinard, a family-friend to Denise and Woody Jones, said. "She loves her son ... She’ll give you anything off her back."
Kinard runs Champion House of Care, a nonprofit that helps adults with disabilities. Woody has Down syndrome and is an active volunteer.
"He's a happy-go-lucky person," Kinard said. "He smiles all the time."
As the Joneses fight to recover in the hospital, their apartment complex has several code violations and is evicting residents before starting renovations under new ownership.
"We have mold through almost every wall in our apartment,” one renter previously told WCNC Charlotte. "We have asked numerous times for these problems to be fixed."
Most of the residents received a 30-day notice at the end of October.
"[The Joneses] are one of those people that were told they have to leave the day after Thanksgiving," Kinard said.
City officials told WCNC Charlotte the new owners of Tanglewood said its only evicting residents who are not paying rent.
Kinard and several residents said that is not true.
"[Denise] is one of the ones who’s paid her rent every month," Kinard said.
A similar issue is happening at the Lamplighter Inn in west Charlotte. Residents were informed the owners are allegedly selling the motel, and they had to be out two weeks later.
However, residents are still at the motel as of now, while crisis groups try to find them somewhere to go.
"We have a known bad acting landlord," Apryl Lewis said. "He's only gonna shut this down, redo it, and it's gonna be the same issue again. "
Lewis is an advocate with Kinetic Works who is helping the motel tenants. She said the living conditions and evictions at both properties are symptoms of a bigger problem.
"It's plenty of landlords in the city that do these tactics," Lewis said. "Where are the protections to help these tenants out?"
She is calling on city leaders to pass ordinances to prevent these situations.
"Every official in this city is aware that this is a pattern, at what point are we gonna stop it," Lewis asked.
As for the Joneses, Kinard said their focus right now is on surviving, not housing. Her goal is to help them find an apartment, furniture, and clothing, so they aren't left with nothing when they get out of the hospital.
Kinard has set up a GoFundMe for the Joneses for those who would like to help them.
Contact Julia Kauffman at jkauffman@wcnc.com and follow her on Facebook, X and Instagram.