BRADENTON, Fla -- Residents and workers at the Cottages of Bradenton got a surprise early last week. The state shut down the assisted living facility.   

According to that emergency order, the state took action because of several findings, including outstanding bills and unsafe conditions for residents.

“We will go ahead and load everything on the truck,” said Theresa Capuano-Scott.

Theresa Capuano-Scott is picking up donations. “It’s amazing. We know there are a lot of seniors in crisis right now and seniors in need,” she said.

She sends donations like furniture and basics over in a big truck. It’s an idea she had to help the seniors who were forced out of their assisted living facility when the state shut down The Cottages of Bradenton.

Capuano-Scott was able to get help from the company she works for called Wayforth, which specializes in moving services.

The facility was closed because of outstanding payments on water and electric bills, and unsafe living conditions according to the emergency suspension order from the State Agency for Health Care Administration.

Included were records of residents wandering off unsupervised, and reports of residents assaulting fellow residents.

But for Theresa, this is what she does. “It feels like I have a thousand new grandparents and I love it,” she said.

Theresa said she has been helping seniors through different jobs and committees for the last 10 years. When she heard about the seniors who were forced to leave the facility, she wanted to collect necessities like tooth brushes and pillows from anyone in the area.

“We are going to Langdon Hall assisted memory care to drop off some of the donated items to the residents that were displaced,” she said. “Im excited that they are going to have the basic necessities,” she said.

The furniture will go to the seniors who moved in to the Langdon Hall. But she’s adding a little extra something in time for Christmas. Giving gifts to 81-year-old Helen Flanders, one resident at the Cottages of Bradenton. “Love it here. It is really very nice here and I’m in love with everything about it. It is really really good,” she said.

It’s a little bit of joy that Theresa can share with all the seniors that she considers a second family.

“They doing have a lot of support so we become their family and give them their basic needs,” she said.

Theresa is helping the seniors in a time of need and giving them a new support system. If you want to help donate items, you can drop them off at Langdon Hall on 33rd Avenue in Bradenton.