OKLAHOMA CITY - The Davis family is reeling and living in darkness - literally.
“It's hard,” said mom Zamia. “My kids can't be happy.”
They have no lights and few comforts.
They've been living without power since they moved into their newest rental property over four months ago.
They can't eat a hot meal together as a family or use the fridge, so no milk for the kids, baths at night, watching TV or playing video games.
“My daughter, she'll wake up and got to go to the bathroom, and she's crying because she's got to wake somebody up to take her to the bathroom because she can't just get up and go because it's so dark,” Zamia said.
Times are desperate and dark.
When they moved in, the family worked out an agreement with their landlord, where they pay less rent in exchange for fixing up the place, but that did not include repairs to the electrical wiring.
That upgrade is on the landlord.
“He said he would get the electric turned on,” Zamia said. “I trusted that.”
We found the electrical repair company did the electric work four months ago and there's now a dispute over the bill and, since the landlord refuses to pay it, the electrical repair company refuses to call the city to request the inspection and, without that inspection, OG&E won't turn on the power.
At this point, who dropped the ball is not our concern.
What is our concern are the kids.
I spent hours on the phone with city inspectors, the electrical repair company and OG&E.
What no one else was willing to do over the past four months, we got done in a matter of hours.
“I feel so, so much lighter,” Zamia said. “I got my kids back.”
OG&E expedited things on their end.
The electrical repair company still hasn't gotten paid, but they called in the inspection anyway and tell the In Your Corner team they had no idea the family was still living at the home without electricity.
Now, power and hope has been restored.
Mom is looking forward to the simplest things, like tucking her kids into their own beds and having their first hot meal together at the dinner table.
“If it wasn't for you guys, my kids would still be sitting here with no power,” she said.