HOUSTON — Concerning living conditions at a Fifth Ward senior living complex prompted the daughter of one of the residents to call on city leaders to address the issue.
Tonya Ashley's 73-year-old mother lives at the Pleasant Hill Village Retirement Community on Lyons Avenue and Pannell Street. Ashley said her mother called her last week about sewage flooding that impacted her apartment on the first floor.
During that visit, Ashley saw nearby units with mold on walls and ceilings.
"It's devastating to me to even see that they've been going through all of this," Ashley told KHOU 11.
Ashley spoke out at Thursday's City Council meeting where she shared photos of the issue with council members and the mayor.
Disturbed by what they saw, the council agreed to have Councilmember Willie Davis, representatives from the mayor's office and City Health Department officials visit the site Thursday.
Those officials held a meeting with Rev. Harvey Clemons Jr., who leads the Pleasant Hill Community Development Corporation that manages the facility.
"[We want to] make sure that our citizens enjoy comfortable and safe places to live and so we're committed to that," Clemons said after the meeting with officials.
Clemons said cleanup and fixes are underway at the complex. He said the issues at the affordable housing facility are part of wider concerns about the age of the building, rent caps, high costs due to inflation and limited resources from housing agencies.
"We're in the process of putting finance in place to make all of the major renovations that we need to have," Clemons said.
Ashley told KHOU 11 management has agreed to allow her mother to move out of the facility.
Clemons said residents in impacted units are being relocated to other units with safer conditions.