Displaced residents of Casanova Plaza in Monterey discuss their journeys to find housing.

Since a three-alarm fire devastated the Casanova Plaza apartment complex in Monterey on Monday, March 9, the displaced residents have been living out of hotel rooms, with little clothing or possessions, working with local organizations to find new places to call home. The process has been difficult for many, and some, like former resident Katrina Cutino, went out on their own to secure new housing.

Cutino, who had lived at Casanova Plaza for roughly 20 years, says that she didn’t want to wait around for the property manager, Housing Authority of the County of Monterey (HACM), to offer her housing options in an area she didn’t want to live in, as most of her family lives in Seaside.

“I went out and found my own place,” Cutino says. “My sister and her friend took me out to put in applications because I knew that the Housing Authority wasn’t going to be doing what they said they would do. They’ve been lying to us since day one.”

She says HACM’s communication with displaced residents was constantly changing, starting with the hotel they were told they’d be staying in after the fire. HACM Executive Director Zulieka Boykin says that many hotels were considered before landing on the Country Inn and Suites in Marina, but rumors about others had spread before an official decision was made, leading to confusion.

Multiple residents have shared their concerns about HACM’s handling of the situation with the Weekly, such as Cameron Burnett, a military veteran and retired social worker specializing in trauma recovery, who says that it has been “absolute chaos” since the fire.

“There was no planning, no direction or any talk of what the process was going to be,” Burnett says. “It was just chaos and confusion, and we got various different stories and misinformation from the Housing Authority at different times.”

Burnett says the most recent example came when HACM representatives told residents, , that they had to be housed and out of the hotel in Marina by April 30, as HACM would stop paying for the rooms. Boykin disputes that claim and says that instead, the goal was to get everyone housed by April 30. Two remaining unhoused residents are still being lodged in Marina as of May 5, paid for by HACM.

Burnett found housing in Monterey with the help of Meg Davidson of the HUD-VA Supported Housing Program and will move into her new place later in May. She is currently staying in a hotel in Seaside, paid for by Nation’s Finest Veterans Services.

In April, Cutino moved into a new apartment in Monterey, but, like other displaced residents, her possessions are still in Casanova Plaza. Cutino received donations through her church to help furnish her new place.

According to HACM, following inspections, the Casanova Plaza building is slated to be opened to 47 residents to recover their property in mid-May.