'It is exhausting': Displaced Community Within the Corridor residents unsure if or when they'll return home

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Roughly 150 displaced residents of the Community Within the Corridor apartment complex are not sure if or when they'll be able to return to their homes.

The building was ordered evacuated after levels of toxic chemicals inside were deemed unsafe.

A few people were escorted in and out Wednesday to grab a few things, but they're living at several locations throughout the city.

This weekend they were told it would be just 48 hours or so before they'd be able to return home. Now it appears they'll be living in hotels for a lot longer. They're frustrated and angry, and they feel stuck.

Bridgett Wilder told us, "It is exhausting, mentally. It's exhausting physically."

Wilder and her neighbors were told Saturday they had one hour to pack their things before they had to get out.

She said they were not told how serious the situation was.

Wilder said, "In terms of us being exposed to a toxin or a chemical, we were never informed about that."

We sat down with Bridgett Wednesday at the hotel she's currently living in with two of her children, nine miles from home. At the time she had been waiting for more than seven hours to be escorted back into her home to get her medication.

After Bridgett's husband died young, she raised her children alone. She worked her way back from homelessness and started working on her master’s degree.

She moved into the apartment in January. She called it amazing, an example of what she'd worked for, a chance to save before buying a home.

But now she said everything in her life has been compromised, from transportation for her high school children: "He has to now catch an hour-long city bus by himself at the age of 13, when it was a 7-minute bus ride or me driving him the 5-minute distance from where we used to live."

To food availability: "Nice hotel, but no cooktop. Just a microwave." Which means no cooking, so no healthy fresh food, just restaurants and fast food.

Bridgett wants answers but said she's not getting them. "I don’t know how long I can do this, but I’m in it for the fight," she said.

We asked if she'd go back if it was safe. She replied, "Oof. My trust is broken."

Bridgett would not answer when asked if she was pursuing legal action but did say she's working on a plan to get compensation for this situation.

Right now, there is no timetable for when environmental engineers will have the building safe for occupancy.