PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Many Portsmouth residents are continuing to have problems receiving their mailbox key from their local post office.
Artura Cunningham spent two years without her mail key before 10 On Your Side stepped in to help. Now she’s looking to return the favor for her Portsmouth neighborhood.
“It was very depressing to not have a mailbox key, to have to run behind a mail carrier for two years trying to get your mail,” she said.
After standing outside her post office on Broad Street, she found out many people are facing the same problem.
“Whether it’s a mailbox key, a broken mailbox, not receiving mail, mail going to other people’s addresses,” Cunningham said.
Solange Cornish is a part of that group.
She told 10 On Your Side she hasn’t been able to get her mail key since March and has to resort to carrying around a flyer with a picture of her ID on it.
“I’m still waiting on my new ID because I still haven’t received my mail,” Cornish said. “So I can’t receive my identification card to migrate or move around my community.”
The entire situation makes her feel alientated from her own community.
“My goal is to feel like I belong, like I belong in this community,” Cornish said, “like I’m a resident who pays my bills faithfully every 30 days.”
Artura said she won’t stop until the problem is solved.
“I continue to be out at the post office every other day to pass out my fliers and forms to find out what the residents need,” Cunningham said. ‘I’m trying to shed some light on a dark situation that needs to be resolved.”
10 On Your Side went down to the post office in question looking for some answers.
The supervisor said the only comment she could give was that mail keys are processed daily.