(WSVN) - Mold forced an 82-year-old Miami Beach woman out of her apartment not once, but twice. Now she needs more help than ever. 7’s Brian Entin has her story.
There are few people we meet in life who we vow we’ll never forget. Eighty-two-year-old Barbara Abraham would likely be one of them.
Barbara Abraham, dealing with mold: “I’m an intelligent woman, a college graduate, upscale.”
Barbara has a passion for life and the people and things around her…
Barbara Abraham: “I was always a productive woman in Dade County, working real estate from ’73 and I still have my license.”
So by the time she reached retirement age, Barbara thought she had found her happy place — a quaint apartment in Miami Beach.
Barbara Abraham: “I had planned to relax at 82. I had a difficult life, I overcome all my difficulties, I’m a very happy positive person.”
But that changed last November, the day she noticed mold growing above a closet…
Barbara Abraham: “I was sleeping in my recliner over there, and I just looked over at the wall and this was up here on the ceiling, and I noticed the black mold was above my closet.”
Barbara reported the mold to management and they paid for her to live in a hotel while her apartment was being cleaned.
Barbara Abraham: “I stayed 44 days in a hotel.”
When she got the all-clear, she moved back in.
Barbara Abraham: “I thought it was fully corrected. I put all my best things out, here comes the second mold business.”
But the mold came back six months later — in the same spot. Barbara packed some clothes and moved out again.
Barbara Abraham: “I’m living out of a suitcase.”
Since Barbara lives alone, this time she was sent to an assisted living facility. She has been there since June…
Barbara Abraham (in tears): “I’m 82 and I don’t have a support system, and I don’t know where to go.”
Barbara decided this time she needed help from an attorney…
David Reiner, Barbara’s attorney: “All we can gather is that they didn’t properly remediate the mold problems where the mold was growing.”
Attorney David Reiner wrote a few letters to the apartment building on her behalf. He was shocked at their reply.
David Reiner: “What they did was they offered to let her move to another place, but they offered to let her do all the moving. They offered to let her get all her stuff cleaned. They offered to let her deal with mold remediation, so they made half efforts.”
The bill for Barbara’s temporary housing has not been paid, and currently the tab is more than $7,000!
So for now, while the attorneys work out the details, Barbara is still out of her home sick home…
Barbara Abraham (in tears): “A lot of people know me, they’ll be shocked to see that this happened to Barbara.”
Once 7News got involved, the apartment building agreed to pay to clean Barbara’s belongings and move them into a new apartment.
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