Note – from the article – “According to managers at Sovereign Townhomes, mold is immediately removed whenever it’s identified, and residents’ complaints about mold are taken very seriously.”
I really have a hard time believing mold is removed from the HVAC system and sheetrock. katy
by Rucks Russell / 11 NEWS
January 22, 2010
HOUSTON—Residents at a southwest Houston apartment complex are alarmed about mold that appears to be growing inside their units.
“We’ve got mold coming out of our vents and it’s making us sick,” said Arthur Tillman, a resident at the Sovereign Townhomes in the 9800 block of United Drive.
Tillman pointed to what looked like mold on his bedroom carpet and part of the ceiling. He said his wife has had trouble breathing.
“Nobody should have to live like this,” he said.
One of Tillman’s neighbors has actually been hospitalized due to breathing problems that she also blames on mold.
“I have to use asthma pumps and it makes me feel awful,” said Kioche Allexander.
While Tillman and Allexander are not on Houston Housing Authority assistance, many people living in the complex are. Some of them were too afraid to share their names, but raised similar concerns about what they called a mold invasion. They also pointed out mold in their units.
According to managers at Sovereign Townhomes, mold is immediately removed whenever it’s identified, and residents’ complaints about mold are taken very seriously.
The Houston Housing Authority conducts about 29,000 inspections at apartment complexes each year. An HHA spokesperson said that roughly 44 percent of all inspections result in failure. He added residents concerned about mold can always call and ask for help.
Those calls are then referred to the city health department, which has experts trained to identify and deal with mold.
Houston Councilwoman Jolanda Jones heads the Houston Housing Committee and said she believes HHA has not done enough to protect low-income tenants.
“To me, this is a human-rights issue,” she said. “That’s unacceptable because they get a lot of money from the federal government.”
The HHA has 12 inspectors who conduct, on average, about 12 inspections a day.
“Changes in construction methods have caused US buildings to become perfect petri dishes for mold and bacteria to flourish when water is added. Instead of warning the public and teaching physicians that the buildings were causing illness; in 2003 the US Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform, a think-tank, and a workers comp physician trade organization mass marketed an unscientific nonsequitor to the courts to disclaim the adverse health effects to stave off liability for financial stakeholders of moldy buildings. Although publicly exposed many times over the years, the deceit lingers in US courts to this very day.” Sharon Noonan Kramer
Information on Riverstone Residential knowingly exposing tenants to extreme amounts of mold toxins at Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Toxic Mold Infested Jefferson Lakes Apartments managed by Riverstone Residential
Rucks Russell and the KHOU got this story wrong. The property had no Houston Houston Housing Authority clients in it. When I served as spokesman for the HHA I told Rucks it was not our property and he did not fix the story. I complained to KHOU management and they refused to provide a correction. The Harris County Housing Authority issued vouchers in this comples. There was not a single person who lived in the complex with a voucher from the Houston Housing Authority no matter what community organizer/activist Jolanda Jones was quoted as saying.
Dennis Spellman, former HHA Spokesman