In 2013, Maurice Rowland (left) was working as a cook at Valley Springs Manor, an assisted living home for elderly residents in California. He got his friend Miguel Alvarez (right) a job there as a janitor last fall.

But in October of that year, the company that managed the home suddenly shut it down, leaving many of the elderly residents with nowhere to go.

The staff stopped being paid so they all left—except for Maurice and Miguel.

At StoryCorps they remembered caring for abandoned residents until the fire department and sheriff took over three days later.

Originally aired November 21, 2014, on NPR’s Morning Edition.