In several instances, Rollins and other St. Vincent de Paul volunteers have been unable to act as advocates for better conditions because they could not reach the landlords.
“You’ve got nine-month pregnant women in homes with no heat, and we can’t help them because we can’t get to the actual owner (of the building),” Rollins said. “There’s no recourse because they’re not on the lease.”
Chelsea Harris of the Clark County Department of Jobs and Family Services said at a Haitian Coalition meeting this year that some homes have anywhere from 10 to 30 people living there. She said at one point, DJFS had 27 active cases in one address.
Johnson Salomon, patient advocate and interpreter at Rocking Horse Community Health Center, said at a Haitian Coalition meeting that so many people are living in single houses because the alternative is living on the street.
“Everybody wants to be close to their family, but sometimes here in Springfield, that one house have a lot of people, it’s not because we want to be with different people, like 27 together,” Salomon said. “It’s because some of them are not able to rent on their own, and they should rent a room from a third party. So that’s why you will see some addresses have 20,15 people.”
Springfield Mayor Rob Rue in September announced the establishment of the Immigration Accountability Response Team to monitor issues related to immigrant employment, housing, crime and driver’s education. The group reports regularly to commission members and the public on immigration-related concerns to allow leaders to be proactive in addressing concerns raised by residents.
The city has said it will look into housing conditions and whether Haitian immigrants are being treated fairly.
Rollins said in order to provide rental assistance that could permit families to stay in well-managed apartments, nonprofits need W-9 forms from landlords and have been unable to get them.
If the apartment buildings are deemed nuisance properties, it would put many families on the street, Rollins said. Agencies are trying to raise funds to address these and other specific needs but encounter the same issue with requiring W-9 forms if the money is to be used for rent.
Rollins said this is becoming a “new tier of impoverishment” and will worsen. She said Saint Vincent de Paul recently had its first case in which it helped a Haitian family find shelter.
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