A South Florida woman says she’s felt trapped in her home for months. She uses a wheelchair, lives on the seventh floor of her condo, and the elevator has been out of service since last fall. Frustrated, she called Help Me Howard with Brandon Beyer.
Keisha Forrest: “I mean, I have lost every holiday since September 2025. Christmas, New Year’s, Thanksgiving.”
For most of the past year, 46-year-old Keisha Forrest says she’s only left her Lauderhill condo a handful of times.
Keisha Forrest: “Four times.”
She lives on the seventh floor, her only way out is the elevator and it’s been broken since last September.
Keisha Forrest: “So everybody in this building effectively for the last almost nine months has had to use the stairs to travel.”
Not an option for someone who uses a wheelchair. When Keisha needs to leave, she has to call the fire department.
Keisha Forrest: “I have to transfer to a stair chair and then from the stair chair, they carry me down seven flights of stairs and I have to do that every time.”
Six years ago, a car crash cost Keisha the use of her legs. Adjusting, she says, has been an ongoing process.
Keisha Forrest: “Every day brings a new challenge and you have to think about creative problem-solving all the time.”
Like her kitchen, which was hard to use until a family member helped her raise the floor.
Keisha Forrest: “And now I can reach things better. But if he never had that foresight, I’d be struggling here to just do the basic things, wash dishes, cook, things like that.”
She passes her time reading, watching TV, scrolling the internet.
Keisha Forrest: “I don’t know what I’d do without any of that, you know, I do not know.”
For groceries and packages, Keisha relies on neighbors.
Keisha Forrest: “This neighbor here, she and her boyfriend are my lifeline.”
But what she really wants is to be able to come and go as she pleases again.
Keisha Forrest: “I’m dying for a little sunshine, just a little sunshine, but it’s very very isolating and it can be depressing at times.”
Howard, nearly a year is a long time to be without an elevator. Especially when it’s your only way in or out.
Howard: “A condominium association may be in violation of the Federal Fair Housing Act if it fails to reasonably accommodate a resident with a disability by leaving an essential elevator out of service for an unreasonable length of time. And there is also a new ordinance in Broward County. Associations are now required to notify residents of their plan to fix the elevators that are out of service for more than 24 hours. Failure to do so could result in daily fines.”
When we reached out, Keisha’s board told us it “…fully recognizes the significant impact that elevator outages may have on residents, particularly those with mobility limitations” and “…remains committed to restoring safe and reliable service as promptly and reasonably as possible.”
Nearly a year later, the elevator has finally been reparied. Keisha can once again leave her home on her own.
Keisha Forrest: “It feels amazing, I mean, after 10 months of being trapped in my apartment, to be able to come and go like I should always have should been able to, it feels great.”
No more holidays spent trapped on the seventh floor.
And Keisha can’t wait.
Keisha Forrest: “Last year Thanksgiving, I was here pretty much by myself because I couldn’t get out, so yeah, probably Thanksgiving.”
Howard mentioned the Federal Fair Housing Act. When an elevator is down for a period of time like that, associations might have to make accommodations for disabled residents. Those can include temporary housing, even a portable elevator, as long as the costs are not unreasonable.
Hey got a problem and need a hand? Here’s how to find us below.
It’s Help Me Howard. I’m Brandon Beyer, 7News.
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