Help Disabled Family Trapped in Toxic Public Housing

Disabled Family Trapped in Toxic Public Housing — Please Help Us Escape!

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read) Version:

Disabled family of five is trapped in a mold-filled, government-owned public housing unit. Everyone is sick, and most have been homebound for months. Every agency we’ve turned to for help — housing authority, public health, disability advocates — has failed us. We finally have a housing voucher but need emergency funds to escape, relocate, and survive. Please donate, share, or connect us with safe housing or legal help. Thank you!

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The Full Story:

We were told public housing would be safe. That government agencies and public health departments would step in when there’s a clear hazard. That if the system failed once, it wouldn’t fail again. That if we filed all the right paperwork, followed all the right steps, and begged all the right officials, someone would help.

But none of that has happened.

Our family is disabled, vulnerable, and trying to rebuild our lives after becoming homeless in November 2022. We had been living in the same house in Iowa for 4 years when the slumlord declined to renew our month-to-month lease shortly after we dared to ask him to address the mold-infestation and other conditions caused by his neglect.

We thought it was a dream come true in October 2023, when we were offered a public housing unit owned by Greene Metropolitan Housing Authority (GMHA) in Yellow Springs, Ohio. The Village is one of the best places in the state to live, and it is always incredibly difficult to find any rental availability at all. Low-income availability is virtually non-existent.

Sadly, that dream has turned into a living nightmare. We are now trapped in toxic public housing, getting sicker by the day. We did everything we were supposed to do. Still, we’ve been failed at every level.

For well over a year, I, my husband, and our three children, have been battling worsening health symptoms — including severe light sensitivity, neurological issues, respiratory trouble, GI problems, recurring urinary issues, and persistent skin conditions — that we’ve now clearly linked to conditions inside this home.

Several of us have documented mold allergies and compromised immune systems. Our entire family is disabled. We’re navigating multiple chronic and complex conditions, including autism and ADHD (AuDHD), PTSD from prior housing instability, asthma, chronic pain, food intolerances, sensory processing challenges, ME/CFS, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, and serious mental health concerns. I’ve been the most severely affected: I now use a cane, walker, or wheelchair when I leave the house — which for several years has been only for doctor or government appointments that can't be done via teleconference.

Between a specialist appointment on May 6 and a lab visit on July 16, I didn’t leave the house a single time — 71 straight days of being completely homebound due to overwhelming symptoms and chemical reactivity. Our doctor has now prescribed the entire family three types of antifungal medication, each stronger than the last, with increasing side effects — and yet the symptoms keep returning, especially after rain.

Despite nine months of reports — including visible water damage, signs of roof leaks, and mold in the HVAC units, bathrooms, and beyond — GMHA still has not inspected the roof outside. Issues documented by GMHA’s own inspections, and violations documented by the Public Health Department on March 31st, remain unresolved. I have repeatedly asked for a written repair plan. Nothing has come.

We were approved for a reasonable accommodation in October 2024 for a one floor house due to my mobility limitations, but between then and June, only one unit was offered — and it, too, had serious condition problems. After posting on a community board about our problems, the previous tenants personally contacted us to warn they had experienced mold and neglect in that same unit. GMHA had offered it to us anyway, fully aware of our documented health concerns. We were also informed that another tenant in a different unit had needed their HVAC units replaced over the summer of 2024 because of issues with mold.

By January, it was clear that no safe public housing unit would be made available. I applied for a transfer to the voucher program, and we were finally awarded one on July 1 — but with no immediate housing options, we’re still stuck.

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To try to resolve these problems, so far, we’ve tried:

We’ve also taken to social media to raise awareness and encourage others to speak out — because this is not an isolated case. Again, we have since learned that multiple other families in our complex and in another GMHA-owned property in Yellow Springs are experiencing similar health problems and neglect.

To make matters more pressing, I have a Social Security disability hearing scheduled for August 20th — a case I’ve been waiting years for. I’m trying to find representation and prepare while sick, displaced, and overwhelmed — and at this point, just keeping our family afloat is a full-time struggle.

Despite our efforts, we are drowning. We are now out of time, out of safe options, and in need of immediate help to escape and start over.

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We are fundraising to cover the following urgent needs:

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If you’re unable to donate, we still deeply appreciate:

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We are sick. We are exhausted. But we are not giving up.

Please help us take the next step toward health, stability, and healing.

THANK YOU for reading, donating, sharing, and standing with us.

Liz Hall and Family

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