HOLLY RIDGE, N.C. — A Holly Ridge mother has been going through her stuff trying to save as much as she can from mold. 

What You Need To Know

  • The Holly Plaza Apartments were condemned in November due to mold issues 
  • Forty families were affected, and although most have found new homes, some are still displaced
  • The mayor of the town of Holly Ridge has said that the "buildings were condemned and will be demolished sometime in the future as the cost to remediate was too much”
  • Dawn Gilliam has been able to move into a new home and is going through her possessions to get rid of things that have mold

In March, after months of not being able to go home, Dawn Gilliam was finally able to move to a new home. 

“From what the research and things that I've done, because mold gets down in tiny little spots, so like coffee pots, blenders, microwaves, toaster ovens, things like that we have to throw away,” she said.

Since moving into a new home, every day she has been sorting though her family’s things. She says all the memories come flooding back.

“I feel like I live back in my apartment when I go through my stuff,” Gilliam said. 

Gilliam says it’s not just the physical things like books and clothes, but the reminders of the life she once had that hit her the hardest. 

In 2010, Gilliam lost her 14-month-old daughter from an infection. Now, because of the mold, she has to burn every physical memory of her daughter. 

“Now I'm having to go through things and get rid of every last memory. You know, it's because now it's contaminated, it's unsafe,” Gilliam said. 

The Holly Plaza Apartments were condemned in November due to mold issues. It wasn’t just Gilliam — 40 families were impacted.

“You're angry. You're sick. Like yesterday, when I got home, I was so exhausted from being in here that I took a four-hour nap. And it's emotional because it's like I lived here,” she said. 

The U.S. Department of Agriculture gave out vouchers as part of the Housing Choice Voucher Program. The vouchers went to each family impacted, helping them afford a place to live in the area until they can find a permanent home.  

“It was hard finding someone that would accept our vouchers because of the way the system works with them. And people have to kind of be patient with the vouchers because it's a process getting it done,” Gilliam said. 

In February she was finally able to find a home for her and her two sons.