Mother and baby flee home for Christmas

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Mother and baby flee home for Christmas

Derry Journal - Derry,Northern Ireland,UK*

http://www.derryjournal.com/journal/Mother-and-baby-flee-

home.3564976.jp

A mother and baby have been left homeless this Christmas after being

forced to flee their home for the sake of their health.

Worried mum, Emma McConway, fled her Housing Executive (HE) house in

Coshowen this week terrified that she could lose her 15-month-old

baby who has developed severe breathing problems since the pair

moved in.

Last week little Ciarrai McConway was rushed to hospital after

she `stopped breathing and turned blue', said her mum, who has vowed

not to return to the house.

The family has experienced a number of health scares since moving

into the two-bedroom house earlier this year which, Emma claims, is

due to serious damp problems. Mould has grown on the baby's

mattress, the furniture and walls of the house.

" Despite all this I am expected to live there with an infant who is

taking her first steps. When I went into the house at the start I

saw that the walls had damp on them but [the housing officer] said

it was only condensation. They painted over it and it was fine.

" But then a few months after we had moved in I noticed mould on the

baby's mattress. I got the HE out and they said it was condensation

again and so I bought all new bed clothes and a new mattress. "

Emma was told to keep the windows of the house open and the heating

on to get rid of the condensation. But, she says, it didn't work.

" Then a couple months ago it started getting really bad, " she

said. " Ciarrai had been coughing and breathing fast and the doctor

said she shouldn't be living in a house with damp.We were both

sleeping in the living room it was that bad. The walls were all blue

moulded and my mattress was wet with damp. I had just had enough.

" Then last Tuesday Ciarrai went blue and stopped breathing. We were

terrified. I called an ambulance and Ciarrai ended up staying in

hospital for five days. She just got out on Monday.

" Now we are staying with my family. I can't take her back to that

house.She could've died last week. I could've lost her.

" No one would put their children in that house. The rooms are blue

moulded. She is not going back into it. "

The family's GP., who treated little Ciarrai, agreed she should not

be living in a house with damp. In a letter the doctor said: " This

wee girl is bothered by frequent respiratory infections.

Dampness

Her parents feel it is due to the dampness in her home. Dampness

would indeed cause medical problems. There are very detrimental

consequences if a child of Ciarrai's age suffers repeated

infections. I would be extremely appreciative if immediate action

could be taken to re-house this family. "

But despite numerous appeals to the HE for help, they claim the

problem is condensation and have classed the house as `liveable'.

They have refused to rehome them.

A statement said: " We have explained to the tenant how condensation

is caused and we have given her a leaflet which provides tips on how

to avoid problems of condensation.

She has been told that she needs to heat her home, and open the

windows to ventilate the rooms.

" In the meantime our maintenance contractor will be checking the

cavity walls and will also wash the walls. "

Emma has vowed not the take her daughter back to the house and

continues to appeal to the HE to find her another home before

Christmas.