Amanda Devaul-Fetters says her family lived in housing at Missouri’s Fort Leonard Wood for about six months before they began experiencing health problems.
“The kids were having upper respiratory issues, bloody noses," she told Spectrum News. "I was having migraines, persistent cough, lots of sore throats, my husband became lethargic and had brain fog."
She said they noticed what they thought was mold growing inside their vents, in the carpet, on the floor, the walls and the ceiling.
“The housing inspector came by and he tried to tell us it was dirt, pollen and grease," she told Spectrum News.
Devaul-Fetters and her husband immediately hired a private company to do an assessment that confirmed their suspicions: It came back with "13 types of active growing mold.”
The family quickly evacuated the housing, moved into a hotel and thus began a lengthy battle with the base’s housing contractor, Balfour Beatty.
The mold was removed within seven business days, but Devaul-Fetters said it wasn't easy.
Devaul-Fetters said it was difficult trying to reach Balfour Beatty, which operates more than 43,000 homes on dozens of bases nationwide.
“It was a full-time job trying to communicate with them," she said. "They don’t respond to emails, they don’t answer the phone, they are never in their office."
In a statement to Spectrum News, the company said that their home was inspected on the same day that the family reported their concerns and the repairs were completed within a week. The company also said that no hazardous conditions were identified.
A Facebook group of military families on the base describe similar experiences. One woman asked the group, “How many chances do you give housing to take care of the mold before you call someone else?” Another wrote, “I called housing already about the mold and they sent the paint guy and just sprayed the mold and mildew stain remover on one of the spots.”
In response to those complaints, Balfour Beatty said they “take all service requests from our residents very seriously, and have comprehensive protocols in place to address any potential life, health or safety concerns.”
In December of last year, Balfour Beatty pleaded guilty to one count of major fraud against the United States for doctoring maintenance records to earn performance bonuses. The company was ordered to pay over $65 million in fines and restitution to the U.S. military, serve three years of probation and engage an independent compliance monitor for a period of three years, according to the Justice Department.
“A very small portion of people speak out," Rachel Christian, an Armed Forces Housing Advocate, told Spectrum News. "We have a lot more under the surface that is terrified to come forward."
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are trying to change that.
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is proposing the creation of a new military housing task force that will be comprised of Pentagon officials, housing experts and military families; it would oversee the implementation of new policies like the recently passed tenant bill of rights that went into effect in Aug. 2021.
The task force would also be required to report annually to the Secretary of Defense and Congress.
“There is no open communication between military families, advocacy organizations, and the DoD in regards to military housing," Christian said. She says the task force would aim to be "transparent" and have accessibility that can be retrieved from the public.
Devaul-Fetters says she isn’t sure a council is enough to resolve the issue, but agrees that something needs to change.
“Living in fear of your own home, and then the helplessness you feel while trying to get people in power to do something, has taken a mental toll,” she said.