There are currently several residents in Red Door Housing Society living in deplorable conditions affecting their health, and wellbeing. These conditions include significant harmful environmental conditions in their homes due to issues such as: 

• incomplete/or no remediation of toxigenic mould, asbestos, lead paint,

• building envelope deficiencies,

• water damage,

• repeated sewage failure issues,

• appalling mice and vermin infestations,

• a stagnant and sometimes gaseous odour emanating from the crawlspace into the home

•  subsidy review inconsistencies

• maintenance requests unanswered

• and more.

The conditions have been causing and/or exacerbating ongoing significant health issues. The conditions have resulted in one anonymous tenant and her daughters now being so ill as to be housebound and designated Persons with Disabilities. As she is also a Person with a Disability, they are extremely vulnerable and negatively affected by the exposure to the mould in their home. Letters from their doctors, from 2017-Present, regarding the negative effects of the environmental hazards on their health have all been sent to you before.

 

There are no unaffected areas in some of these homes. At present, two family members at this tenant's residence are having to share one bedroom and the third has been sleeping on the living room couch because two bedrooms are uninhabitable due to mould. They are unable to use or enjoy their home and are struggling with the most basic day-to-day tasks for survival. This living situation remains harmful and has been documented as such by multiple doctors' letters, which have been previously sent to Susan Snell, as well as multiple councillors and MLAs. MLA Ian Paton sent a letter to David Eby on August 30th, but despite the attorney’s response conditions have not changed or improved and nothing has been done. 

Janna is another of the residents affected. Janna is a disabled, BIPOC, single mother, who escaped domestic violence. Janna and her two daughters were moved into an RDHS unit by Janice Abbott, the CEO of Atira. Unbeknownst to Janna and her children, they were moved into a unit that had previously had a flood that was not addressed. 

For over 2 years, Janna and her family have been asking RDHS, BC Housing, MLA Harry Bains and the City of Surrey to live in a mould-free home. Janna, whose health has drastically deteriorated, filed a Human Rights Complaint against RDHS, BC Housing and RJS Construction in hopes of reaching an amicable agreement with said parties. 

Sadly, this has gone on for almost 2 years and despite numerous requests from two of Janna's doctors this has yet to happen. Despite her failing health, Janna has had her rights repeatedly violated by the aforementioned parties, and has been denied access to her elected officials. These violations include unsafe work on her home despite numerous emails of concern from herself, Elizabeth Zbitnoff and BC Human Rights Organization President Jaskarn Singh Gill. Janna was forced to stay in her home with her children and emotional support pets as RJS Construction Ltd hammered and drilled around toxic, mouldy windows at the request of Red Door Housing Society. RJS Construction Ltd's foreman blocked Janna's door while this work was going on. Janna has had her home professionally tested for mould and the levels have tested dangerous to their health. 

Janna has spent a year in and out of the hospital and has undergone hundreds of medical tests. Her daughters have also undergone medical testing and each has their own medical issues that they are addressing. 

Janna is a good tenant who always pays her rent early but despite this, RDHS has raised her rent twice during a pandemic and has left her and her children living in toxic mould. 

Red Door has received funding from the City of Vancouver as well as the government of BC, and charitable donations as well. Why is Red Door being funded if it is unwilling to remedy conditions for their current tenants? In addition, Red Door is currently embroiled in legal actions against a number of its tenants, rather than spending money on remedying conditions for these same tenants. Why is RDHS able to spend money fighting its own low-income, disabled families in legal proceedings instead of spending money to provide healthy, dignified conditions.

These tenants require urgent transfer to safe, suitable housing. I am, respectfully, asking for your immediate intervention in ensuring these families are transferred to safe housing. If safe subsidized housing cannot be promptly arranged, these tenants need to be given the option of obtaining portable subsidy for an appropriate, local, market rental unit or to be provided with any other appropriate solutions that are available. Most urgently, tenants the anonymous tenant, Janna, and Vanessa all need to be relocated somewhere safe with no conditions attached immediately. Their health is in grave danger and they need to be given safe, secure housing before anything else.

In the meantime, a certified mould remediation company needs to ensure these units are immediately tended to and repaired of health-endangering mould; with professional mould testing and remediation being incorporated into all retrofit projects. 

In addition, these tenants have tried reaching out to the Board of Directors repeatedly and have had no success in obtaining their contacts or being able to speak to them. We demand that the tenants of Red Door Housing Society be given immediate access to their Board of Directors, so they can petition them directly.

There are many other disgraceful, long-term maintenance issues at this site and other RDHS properties. Low-income families are consistently and repeatedly treated like third-class citizens by RDHS with no meaningful avenue of complaint or redress. Why are single mothers, racialized women, and people with disability being forced to live in deplorable conditions and being litigated against when they try and take action? 

Why are tenants such as Amal and her family who are immigrants from Egypt forced to live in mice while RDHS tripled their rent during a pandemic? RDHS refuses to answer Amal’s concerns regarding the 7 subsidy reviews that RDHS has insisted that she file within the past 12 months. This has taken a toll on Amal’s health and has received a note from her doctor voicing their concerns.

 This needs to be addressed instantly. We again, urge all parties to take steps to  immediately:

1 - Transfer aforementioned tenants to safe housing

2 - Grant all tenants direct access to the RDHS Board of Directors

3 - Ensuring a certified mould remediation company tends to and repairs all health-endangering mould; with professional testing and remediation being incorporated into all retrofit projects.

 Please ensure this happens as soon as possible. Our tax dollars should not go to allowing single mothers, women of colour, with mental and physical health issues struggling with financial stability to languish in mould and mice.