Wilfredo Martinez, 84, has to live with his daughter Gabi. Picture: GREG TOTMAN
Wollongong grandfather Wilfredo Martinez has been forced to move in with his daughter Gabi until the lift in his building is fixed.
The 84-year-old, who suffers from arthritis and prostate cancer, can't traverse 10 flights of stairs from his fifth-floor unit in Market Street and said the same was true for many of the other residents.
On Monday, Ms Martinez helped her father climb down the stairs - a slow, painful journey that took almost half an hour.
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"We had to get him to his oncologist appointment and it took a while to get him down, but some residents need motorised wheelchairs so they're completely stuck," she said.
"Many residents have had to cancel specialists' appointments, and in some cases they have had to wait months for these appointments.
"Dad got to his oncology appointment finally, but the last time the lift was out he missed out on a radiotherapy appointment and the whole course had to be cancelled."
Mr Martinez had to leave his walking frame, which has been modified to suit his needs, at his unit. And while he is comfortable staying at his daughter's Balgownie house, there's no place like home.
"And it's not really safe for him to have a shower as we don't have the same facilities in our bathroom as he does in the unit.
"He's been forced to leave his unit for a week or longer - he should get a refund on his rent."
Ms Martinez said while it was a "fantastic set-up" at the Housing Trust complex, something needed to be done about the repeated lift breakdowns.
"There's a great sense of community - they all look out for each other," she said.
"But it's only a new building - I'm shocked only one lift was installed. And when the lift breaks down - which it has done on a number of occasions - there's no proper emergency plan in place."
Housing Trust operations manager Chris Lacey said regular meetings were held with tenants.
"We do have an emergency and evacuation plan," he said.
"At the last tenants' meeting we had a representative from the fire brigade there to talk to residents about what to do if the lifts were out in case of a fire."