Help My Family Escape a Toxic Home and Start Fresh Before the New Year

My name is Michael Durant, and I’m asking for help — not for legal battles or handouts — but simply for the chance to get my family out of an unsafe home and into a place where we can breathe again.

When we moved from New York to Pennsylvania, we thought we were starting a new chapter. We came here to be closer to my mother-in-law so our kids could have more family around and a better life. But what was supposed to be a fresh start turned into a nightmare we never saw coming.

After moving in, we discovered that the basement — and parts of the house — were contaminated with black mold. When I brought it up to the landlord, instead of fixing it, he painted over the mold with white paint to cover it up. He told us the place had been inspected, but I later found out there’s no occupancy permit for this house at all. We were lied to while we were still back in New York packing our things to move here.

Our daughter has respiratory issues, and living in this environment is dangerous for her. The air smells like mold, and there’s no real remediation happening — just cover-ups and excuses. I confronted the landlord, and he admitted he didn’t want to deal with the problem. Instead, he said we could stop paying rent and move out, because he’d rather see us leave than fix it.

That’s where we are now.

I don’t have money to chase lawyers or fight a legal battle — I’m just trying to survive and keep my family safe. We’ve given ourselves 60 days to be out of here before the new year. That means finding a clean, safe place to live, covering the security deposit, first month’s rent, moving expenses, and basic supplies to start over.

If even 6,000 people donated just $1, we’d reach our goal and finally be able to leave this place behind for good.

I have proof and documentation of everything — from the mold and painted-over damage to the false inspection claims — and I’m willing to share it if needed. We just need a little help to make it out.

We moved here trying to give our kids something better. Now we’re fighting just to make sure they can breathe clean air.

Every dollar, every share, every bit of support brings us closer to safety.

From the bottom of our hearts — thank you for reading, for believing, and for helping us take this next step.

— Michael Durant & Family