Disabled and elderly tenants of a Long Beach senior housing complex complain that simply leaving their building has them fatigued.

"You can't go down because you don't know if you can come up again," resident Helene Caruthers, 63, says of the perpetually broken elevator at 175 W. Broadway. "It's a dangerous situation. It really needs to be remedied."

Caruthers isn't alone. "She's huffing and puffing and completely fatigued," Maria Doles says of her 70-year-old mother, Margerita. "She had a heart operation. She also had a back operation. So, just going up one flight of stairs takes her . . . minutes."

The situation, which some residents say has been occurring on and off for two years, has gotten so bad that they call the fire department for assistance.

The Long Beach Housing Authority said in a statement, "We are aware of the problem. We have had the service company there several times this week to try to resolve it. First thing on Monday, we will call to see what the status is."

However, resident Gladys Staude is doubtful. "They send somebody over, they fix it," Staude says. "They put a Band-Aid on it and then they go away. An hour later, it's broken again."