Residents Of Sacramento Housing Complex Live With Mold. Single Mother Fights For Repairs

By Robert J. Hansen | OBSERVER Staff Writer Marcheri Smith has lived in public housing at Alder Grove for seven years. For the last three the single mom has endured mold in her bathroom because the maintenance crew for her complex refused to fix it.Three years ago, Smith’s then-7-year-old son became ill and had to repeatedly be taken to the hospital.“I first noticed the mold because [he] couldn’t breathe in here,” Smith told The OBSERVER in an interview at her home.Her son, now 10, has lived with his father for the last two years because of his physical problems living with mold.Smith, 38, still lives with her two younger sons and is concerned for her and her sons’ health.She said she put in a work order and the person who came to look at the bathroom said it was dirt and not mold along the bathtub.Mold in Marcheri Smith’s bathroom in October 2024. Madelaine Church, OBSERVEROther residents spoke to The OBSERVER about mold in their homes but wished to remain anonymous.The Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, which manages Alder Grove and adjacent Marina Vista, told The OBSERVER it would look into people living with mold in their units.SHRA did not...