Beaumont senior living center evacuates to College Station

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) - On Wednesday afternoon, 32 residents from Pelican Bay Senior Living in Beaumont made their way to College Station by bus.

They needed a safe place to ride out Hurricane Laura, and Sodalis Senior Living opened their doors.

“It’s kind of scary, but now the sun is shining it takes your mind away from it,” said May Thomas, a resident at Pelican Bay.

“I”m worried about my home but you know that’s a replaceable. A life I can’t get back, so I’m just glad to be with the residents. We’re safe here so just ready for it to be over,” said Marianne Washington who works at Pelican Bay.

Washington has worked at Pelican Bay for eight years and helped pack everyone up to come to College Station.

“It’s nothing new to me,” she said.

“It’s a quite monumental feat to pack everybody up and get all their belongings, but it’s been incredible, we left early this morning and we had a smooth drive in and just a smooth transition,” said Elizabeth Farris, regional director of operation for Pelican Bay.

On the Sodalis side, they had to get all the room, food, and supplies together and make sure they had enough PPE.

“Right now we have to make sure that nobody with either community had COVID, so both of us are COVID free,” said Traci Taylor, the president of Sodalis Senior Living.

Taylor says they’re happy to lend a hand.

“I think with the senior living industry we’ve taken such a hit with COVID it’s really important right now that we all help each other out, so we’re thrilled to be able to help them.”

The residents from Beaumont will stay for a week unless their building is damaged.

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