Donations being accepted for families displaced due to mold in WHA housing communities

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Government entities and local nonprofits are coming together to help people displaced by mold issues.

150 families that live in public housing communities have been displaced, as their homes undergo extensive repairs due to mold. As a result, many of them need to replace furniture and other items that were damaged.

New Hanover County, Wilmington Housing Authority, City of Wilmington, Good Shepherd Center, LINC and the Resiliency Task Force have partnered to collect new or gently used furniture and household items for the families impacted by the mold at the old city fire station on princess place drive.

Wednesday was the first day of the initiative and a volunteer at the donation site said there has already been a steady flow of people dropping off items,

“It doesn’t feel like enough. It’s a really rough situation, you know this mold crisis, within the housing authority, but we’re just trying to do what we possibly can to help out and be good neighbors to folks,” said volunteer Clayton Hamerski, Young Democrats of New Hanover County president.

New Hanover County’s Chief Diversity and Equity Officer Linda Thompson said the county has developed a team to help Wilmington Housing Authority connect residents resources, as the housing situation is remedied.

“We certainly want to make sure that we help to provide every possible resource, and so we did. We put together a team, we’ve been meeting with the housing authority, staff on a weekly basis, to get updates and to find out what shortfalls there may be,” said Linda Thompson, New Hanover County’s Chief Diversity and Equity Officer.

The Wilmington Housing Authority is not an entity of the City of Wilmington, but a city spokesperson said the city is participating in the partnership, committed to the wellbeing of city residents.

Like New Hanover County the city is also meeting with WHA to get an update on the status of the mold crisis in its public housing communities.

“You know, the mold remediation is going to take a little bit of time, and it’s impacting these families, and this is just one small way that we can give back and help make a difference,” said Jennifer Dandron.

In November, Mayor Bill Saffo sent a letter to the Wilmington Housing Authority  requesting information on the mold situation. WWAY reached out to the Wilmington Housing Authority, and have not heard back yet.