More than a week after a Glenolden, Pennsylvania, apartment building was condemned, frustrated tenants said they still haven’t been allowed to return home to retrieve essentials like clothing, medication or important documents.

Residents of Turner Apartments on Chester Pike in Delaware County have been displaced since borough officials deemed the building unsafe last week.

Dianna Sharobeem is among more than a dozen people who have been living in hotels or with relatives since the evacuation.

“It’s very frustrating, and it’s honestly getting to a point where everyone’s starting to feel hopeless, because we don’t know what to do,” Sharobeem said.

Glenolden borough manager Brian Razzi said a malfunctioning heating system triggered a fire alarm on Nov. 9. According to a police report, firefighters didn’t find flames, but they did discover a natural gas leak. They also found a water heater that was flooding the basement and a heater that was overheating.

Emergency crews ordered all residents to evacuate immediately. Sharobeem said no one has been allowed back inside since.

“They don’t give you any time to find a place to go live, or even if we find a place, how are we supposed to get our stuff?” Sharobeem said. “We have no clothes. We have no anything on us.”

The borough said Turner Apartments is now condemned for multiple violations, and the power has been shut off until repairs are made.

Sharobeem said she, her mom and her sister have no relatives nearby. They’ve been living in a hotel indefinitely.

“We’re living on our savings in a hotel room, and we can’t afford it,” Sharobeem said.

Karate studio also affected

The closure isn’t only affecting residents. The Pal Che Tang Soo Do karate studio on the first floor was forced to shut down immediately and cancel classes.

“We’re trying to find a temporary location to have our classes elsewhere, like a church hall or something like that, just until we can get back in the building, if we can ever come back,” Nicholas D’Amato, owner of Pal Che Tang Soo Do, said.

D’Amato said the shutdown has left his 75 students without a training space and is costing the business revenue every day.

Searching for answers

Sharobeem said she has repeatedly called her landlord.

“As of today, I have not heard from the landlord at all,” Sharobeem. “I have contacted him over 50 times,” she said.

CBS News Philadelphia called Turner Apartments for comment and was told no one was available to speak.

With less than two weeks until Thanksgiving, Sharobeem said she is in contact with Legal Aid to help determine her options.

“We’re basically left to just fend for ourselves,” Sharobeem said. “We’re juggling going to the court, going to the borough, talking to whoever, and none of us can give us any answers to give us hope.”