Dozens of complaints about bugs, mold, mistreatment of tenants and complaints about basic maintenance duties have been filed by tenants. A big fear for some of the people living there is that their health is in danger.
Emma Litton has lived at Liberty Green apartments for a decade. “This is when I was in the hospital in April when I was exposed to the gas and it says stopping in to say hello and to let you know you are in our thoughts and prayer,” said Litton as she reads a get well soon card.
Liberty Green was once a place she loved, but lately, it’s been a different story. “It’s been a straight-up nightmare,” said Litton. Litton says she was suddenly hospitalized twice in one week in April. She says doctors couldn’t figure out the problem, but her health seemed to improve by the hour. The dizziness, coughing and fever returned almost immediately when she returned home.
“I love my apartment but I don’t love it enough to kill me,” said Litton.
When she returned home the second time, she walked into a flooded common entrance and found a natural gas leak and another problem. “The mold was so strong until it burned our eyes, our nose, our throat. We were coughing. It was terrible,” said Litton.
She says the gas company fixed the leak and a professional company was hired to remove the mold, but she fears it has returned. “I’m coughing my head off. I’m just coughing I’m sneezing. It’s so bad until I can’t even sleep at night,” said Litton.
In another Liberty Green unit, Yovanna Jones is also experiencing issues. “It stinks,” Jones says while looking under a bathroom sink. Jones says she found leaks and mold under every sink when she and her son moved here in August. “Two months later, the issues have not been fixed. There’s still active mold,” said Jones.
Jones says she has filed multiple complaints and maintenance requests to CT Group, the property management company that serves Liberty Green Apartments and Sheppard Square property. “They were gonna put these boards on top of that before I asked can I see this before you cover it up and we pull it up and it’s this that’s extremely frustrating,” said Jones.
Jones said since living in the unit, she has been experiencing shortness of breath, nausea and loss of appetite.
Medical records show that doctors listed congestion, sore throat, and shortness of breath among a list of symptoms and diagnosed her with sinusitis, which can be triggered by a cold or allergies.
Jones blames the mold. “When I was at my worst. I felt like I was near death,” said Jones. “I’m now on antibiotics. I am taking an antihistamine. I guess that’s for allergies and I am also on a steroid.”
Louisville Metro Housing Authority declined the request to speak with us and referenced a portion of CT Group’s policy that states “CT Group encourages managers to promptly complete an incident report after a resident expresses concern that a condition in their unit or an accident on the property may be connected to health issues or hospital visit.”
We also requested to speak with the CT Group about these concerns. Regional manager Kathy Strom promised to provide more on the company’s policy but did not follow through.
We also reached out to Dr. Carl Paige of the Medical Transformation Center, an independent health practitioner for over 20 years. Paige specializes in internal medine. He is not treating the people we spoke with, but he did say mold illness can cause a number of issues depending on a person’s susceptivity to mold.
He says symptoms could include rashes, allergy-like symptoms, and even neurological issues. “It can actually cause changes in brain architecture and brain structure and you could lose volume in certain areas of the brain based on how long you’re exposed and how vulnerable that individual might be to mold so you could actually get physical changes due to micro toxin exposure,” explained Paige.
As for Jones and Litton, Jones is part of the Louisville Tenants Union. The group is demanding the city cancel its contract with CT Group. Tenants at Liberty Green Apartments and Sheppard Square met with city council members to try to get changes made on Wednesday.
Litton is hoping their cries will be heard. “Peoples complaining and you don’t care nothing about them with children and young folks and elders and you don’t care nothing about it. I’m disappointed, I’m hurt and now I’m mad,” said Litton. “I feel like they are trying to kill me.”
She says this place in its current condition is no home.
On Wednesday, Louisville Metro Council members voted in support of a resolution requesting that LMHA cancel its contract with CT Group at its earliest lawful opportunity and cease to further contract with the company.