Storm damage forces low-income residents from apartments

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Storm damage forces low-income residents from apartments

Houma Courier - Houma,Louisiana*

Legendre

Staff Writer

Published: Thursday, September 25, 2008

http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20080925/ARTICLES/809250300/1211/NE

WS01?

Title=Damage__mold_push_St____Manor_residents_from_apartments

THIBODAUX — They left their homes in advance of Hurricane Gustav,

returning with hopes of a rapid transition to normalcy.

But those hopes were shortlived. Now residents of the St.

Manor apartment complex share a collective dread, facing the

prospect of becoming homeless because of a mold infestation that

developed during their absence.

Safety concerns brought about by severe roof damage and mold caused

the complex's management to order tenants to leave by Saturday

evening. The apartments must be gutted and the roof repaired before

they can return, said Apartment Manager Cheryl , adding she

does not know how long the repairs will take.

Many of the 48 families who live in the apartments for low-income

families say they either have nowhere else to stay, don't have the

money required for a new place or cannot find a hotel or place to

rent.

Faced with the inability to find homes, even temporary ones, would

cause them to leave the area, residents said Wednesday. Their

departure would create an unwelcome domino effect, characterized by

the need to find new jobs, new schools for their children and places

to store belongings that weren't ruined by water or mold.

" Where are we going to go? " asked Jazzmine , 34, a mother of

two who she sat in a chair outside her apartment. " I'm not the only

person saying this. There are 48 families back here. "

was in the audience hours later as a local nonprofit

organization, Bayou Interfaith Sharing Community Organizing, hosted

a meeting for residents of areas affected by hurricanes Gustav and

Ike to inform community leaders and FEMA and Red Cross

representatives of the problems they face.

A FEMA representative attended the meeting, but declined to address

the crowd. He also refused to answer a reporter's questions later.

A Red Cross official referred people to the organization's 1-800-

GETINFO number.

Altogether, about 30 St. Manor residents attended the

meeting, a show of hands revealed. Two people also attended from the

Luther King Apartments, where residents were forced to leave

Monday because of extensive roof damage.

The event's organizers said the meeting was a step toward finding

solutions to problems plaguing residents, but cautioned such a

gathering would not produce immediate results.

After weeks of unsuccessfully trying to get aid from FEMA, St.

Manor residents agreed the wait for help couldn't be put off

any longer.

Ravaged roofs expose sunlight in bedrooms, mold dots walls and a

heavy stench hovers inside.

" This is about to make me snap, " said Frederick, 57, who lives

with her 18-year-old daughter, Ward, at St.

Manor. " I don't know how much I can take. "

Frederick moved to the apartment complex last year from Virginia.

She had moved there following Hurricane Katrina.

" I never thought when I left Virginia that I would be facing a

hurricane and not having a home again, " the retired Orleans Parish

School Board worker said.

Lost jobs are an almost inevitable repercussion of relocating,

several residents said. So, too, are school changes for children

living in the apartments.

, a cook at Rouses, said she would have to quit her job if

she moves and enroll her 11-year-old daughter, Saxoney , in

a new school.

" If I have to go out of town, everything will be completely messed

up, " said, adding she does

not know where her family is going to stay.

She knows they can't keep breathing moldy air. Her daughters,

Saxaney and 2-year-old Samijea s, have asthma, and she is

worried they will develop long-term health problems.