Residents in one Dallas neighborhood are concerned for a man’s welfare and their public safety after the man has been living on the porch of his condemned home for months.
Alicia Shook's daily commute down Fenwick Drive in far east Dallas has turned into daily stops.
"It breaks my heart every time I drive by there," she said.
On the porch of a boarded up, burned out home sits a man known only to his neighbors as Wilbur.
The man has been living on the front porch in his own filth since someone set fire to his home back in May.
Over the summer, the city of Dallas declared the house a nuisance. Notices posted on the boarded windows show the house is slated for demolition, yet Wilbur will not budge.
"If that's all you have that's all you want to stay with but there has to be something better," said Shook.
Alicia and fellow neighbors bring him food and water and have tried desperately to connect him to charities and housing options but the house has been Wilbur's home the last 25 years.
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"To me it's like he's just been thrown away and he's left to live on his porch until they demolish the house or something dangerous happens to him," said Shook.
The city of Dallas is aware of the problem.
According to property records, the home belongs to U.S. Bank.
City of Dallas attorney Chris Bowers said the city obtained a court order giving the bank 30 days to demolish the home, but those days have passed and the home still stands. So now the city has requested a court order that would authorize the city to demolish the house but as of today no order has been received.
In a statement to NBC DFW, Bowers said, "The City Attorney's Office, DPD's Crisis Intervention Unit and Adult Protective Services will continue to work with bank representatives and Mr. Odell to help him find a safe and sanitary housing elsewhere and to ensure the house is demolished as soon as possible."
"I'm just shocked," said Shook. "It's been 4 months. This man is living in his own feces on the front porch and there's nothing that can be done about it."
