NEW ORLEANS — At Curtis Green’s house near Pontchartrain Park, there’s wet insulation piled on the bed, the smell of mold in the air, and there are three children under four year’s old.
“The carpet’s wet, and we have nowhere else to go,” said Green, standing in the doorway of the bedroom he shares with his girlfriend, Jaun-Drea Stewart.
“My son, he’s autistic, he has breathing problems. Plus we have two other small kids, so it’s not a really good thing,” she said.
Green and Stewart say their landlord didn’t tarp their roof after Hurricane Ida. Inches of rain from Hurricane Nicholas poured in shortly after.
Their home has become a health hazard.
The ceiling of the main bedroom has collapsed onto the bed, with moldy insulation hanging from the hole above. There is water damage on the ceiling of one son’s bedroom, water damage on the roof of the laundry room, and the scent of mildew throughout the house.
The ceiling of one bathroom is barely hanging on, bulging full of rainwater. Mold is growing on a doorframe just feet from an infant’s playpen.
Green and Stewart repeatedly tell their oldest son, who has autism and breathing trouble, to stay out of rooms with the worst water damage.
They say they’ve made repeated contact with the property manager, but she has not been helpful.
“They say, well, we’re going to get back with you,” he said. “They say you know, we’re going to see what the next step is, we’ll get the insurance company.”
The owner of Green’s home is Gianni Investment, LLC, which owns 16 homes in New Orleans, including the one next door to Green.
The property manager did not respond to multiple messages from Eyewitness News.
But the Housing Authority of New Orleans, or HANO, did. We informed them of Green and Stewart’s situation and they called the couple within two hours asking for more information.
HANO has the authority to do emergency inspections on Section 8 housing.
September 1st, just a few days after Hurricane Ida, HANO set up an email address solely dedicated to voucher holders with Ida issues.
A spokesperson for HANO wrote to Eyewitness News “we have received over 500 emails to that address and our HCVP housing specialists have been working diligently with the affected residents to resolve their issues.”
Housing NOLA has gotten lots of calls and emails, too. Andreanecia Morris says Ida compounded the COVID housing crisis. Louisiana’s eviction moratorium ends Friday.
“We have been getting calls and emails from people who just don’t know where to go,” Morris said.
She says the state should have activated an emergency plan to allow residents who have lost their homes to stay in hotels. Now, with limited places to go, housing is becoming a core issue post-Ida.
“The answer is: in times of trouble, our government needs to be providing people with housing. That’s always our call to arms. Put housing first,” she said.
Green and Stewart are hoping to stay in their home. They say they drained their bank accounts evacuating. And with three little ones, they have nowhere to turn but their landlord.
“We have nowhere else to go. You know, we can’t get any funding. We didn’t get anything from FEMA yet, any assistance, so we have to be here,” said Green.
If you are someone in need of help with HCVP issues, you can email HANO at HIDA@HANO.org or call 504-670-3300.