EUCLID, Ohio — Tamara Addison and her family are now living alone in a burned-out 8 unit Euclid apartment building and report the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority has been slow to find them a new place to live.
Flames gutted parts of the Twin Mark Apartments on Babbitt Road Jan. 20. All other tenants were evacuated from the building, except for the Addison family.
Addison said CMHA did not respond after she expressed health and safety concerns, and when she asked for another unit, Addison said she was told her current apartment is still habitable.
"I think it's ridiculous and it's been very tough because everyday in the hallway, when I'm coming in, you get a headache then you smell it all in our apartment," Addison said. "Also we don't have any heat here, there's no heat. So I don't understand why they're telling me I have to stay here. I made several calls and I wasn't getting anywhere. In fact I called for a couple days."
Addison's daughter, Soghai Mitchell, said she's afraid to have her two children stay at the complex.
"Oh I'm definitely worried, nobody can live like this, this is crazy," Mitchell said. "You can't inhale this, this is dangerous for anybody with health conditions, without health conditions."
News 5 contacted CMHA and the Euclid Building Department about this case, and both responded immediately.
CMHA contacted the Addison family within a few hours and told her she could pick up a voucher to move to another apartment unit.
The Euclid Building Department said it would look into the case on Jan. 28.
CMHA said tenants who have health and safety concerns should contact the agency in-person, by phone, or through the CMHA website and its contact page.
Meanwhile, Addison said she's still not sure why CHMA didn't move her out with the rest of the tenants hours after the fire took place.
"Something really needs to be done with section 8 and CMHA, because they're not on their job," Addison said. "They don't care because they're not living like this, or in these conditions."
