After more than a month living in a South Shore apartment with a collapsed ceiling and no heat, a mother of two is now facing eviction.

M, her partner, and her young son arrived in Chicago nearly a year ago. Shortly after, she became pregnant. Like many recently arrived Venezuelan immigrants, her family settled in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood. In spring 2025, they moved into their current building, which houses between 20 and 30 residents, most of them Venezuelan families with young children.

In the fall, fear spread among her neighbors after the ICE raid on 7500 S. South Shore Drive. Several of M’s roommates moved out, worried the same thing could happen to them.

In November, a short circuit in the heating system of an adjacent building caused a major fire. Soon after, M’s landlord shut off the heat to her building. Tenants were allowed to remain but were asked to continue paying reduced rent. M’s rent dropped from $1,000 to $600.

The lack of heat was only one of many serious issues. The building also suffered from extensive water damage, and in early December, the ceiling in M’s living room collapsed. Just days later, she gave birth to her daughter.

For over a month, M’s apartment has been dangerously cold, putting the health of her newborn, her older child, and her neighbors at serious risk. Neighbors donated space heaters, but using more than one at a time caused the power to go out. During record snowfall and single-digit temperatures, M has been confined to a single room because the rest of the apartment is too cold to occupy safely.

Around Christmas, M and her neighbors received eviction notices due to the building’s unsafe conditions. The notices were written in English only, with no Spanish translation. Tenants were ordered to vacate by January 9 or face arrest. While the city has ordered the landlord to provide each tenant with a $3,000 check upon returning their keys, the property manager has been unresponsive to M’s attempts to get assistance or clear information.

M’s situation is not an isolated case. It’s part of a pattern of neglectful, often out-of-state landlords renting dilapidated buildings to vulnerable communities, including recently arrived immigrants and low-income Black residents. All Chicagoans, regardless of income or immigration status, deserve safe and dignified housing. Instead, families like M’s are forced to endure dangerous conditions before being displaced altogether.

Please consider helping M and her family during this time. All funds raised will go toward helping them relocate to safe housing with reliable heat. If we are able to raise more than $5,000, any additional funds will be shared with M’s neighbors, who are facing the same crisis.

In Solidarity,

Jared & Dani