Richmond mom calls Problem Solvers over safety concerns: 'I don't want to stay here. It's too much'

RICHMOND, Va. — Frustrated and afraid for her children's safety, Iesha Evans contacted the CBS 6 Problem Solvers fed up with the conditions at her Hillside Court Housing Community apartment.

"I'm having mouse issues. I'm having leakage issues," she said. "I found out when the mouse was in my baby bed. And then I started seeing them wandering around the house and I called [Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority] to let them know."

Evans said for at least two years, she's complained about a leak from her bathroom into her kitchen. Now, she said, the mouse problem seems to be getting worse. 

"I have [her daughter] sleeping in my bed every night because I’m so terrified of the mice getting back in her bed. The closets, all the rooms, the bathrooms they're basically like everywhere," she said. "I [also] have a leak from my shower. It goes all the way down to my kitchen that's why they had to tear my cabinets down."

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Evans said she has requested a transfer to a new unit within Richmond Redevelopment and Housing Authority (RRHA) but was told she is still on the waiting list. She said temporary fixes for both the mice and the leak have not worked.

"You can see it still leaking. They just basically keep doing the same thing. Putting their mouse traps down without even trying to come and figure out where it's coming from," Evans said. "[My children] have asthma real bad and issues like that. I mean, [RRHA] don't have to let us live in a situation like this. They can do more."

Tired of having to store her food in bins, deal with recurring leaks, and replace appliances because mice have chewed through the cords, Evan's said she pleads with RRHA for real change.

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"Move me to another apartment or do my transfer, because this is like to the point where I'm like, I don't even want to stay here because, it's too much," she said. 

The CBS 6 Problem Solvers reached out to RRHA about Evans' claims and the status of her transfer.

"Due to privacy concerns, RRHA does not speak about the individual tenancy situations of any of our residents," an RRHA spokesperson replied. "However, regarding work orders for extermination and requests for transfer:

RRHA does an overall treatment at each community each quarter and addresses individual work orders for extermination as they are received. 

Preventative maintenance treatments began in Hillside on September 6, 2022, and finished on September 23, 2022.

It is the policy of RRHA to permit a family to transfer from one public housing unit to another under certain conditions and to fulfill operational or regulatory requirements. 

Our ACOP Chapter 15 Transfer Policy, fully details this process and how the authority proceeds. All transfers request for health and safety or emergencies are elevated according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and RRHA transfer policies and procedures.

If Ms. Evans has submitted a request to transfer, the Hillside property manager can provide the status of that transfer to Ms. Evans."

The CBS 6 Problem Solvers followed up with RRHA Thursday evening regarding the statement and are still waiting to hear back.