Springfield officials seek to work with state agencies to help still-homeless Somali refugee families from condemend duplex
SPRINGFIELD – A lawyer for the city’s Housing office said Friday that the city remains committed to helping two refugee families that were left homeless two weeks ago when their Union Street apartment was condemned.
The two families, originally from Somalia and consisting of three adults and 12 children, have spent the last two weeks in a Greenfield hotel. Some assistance has been provided to the families by local and state agencies, officials said.
“The city remains committed to assuring that the families are afforded safe and sanitary housing,” said Lisa C. DeSousa, associate city solicitor. “We are looking forward to working with social service agencies that are charged with assisting refugee families in these types of situations.”
The families’ duplex apartment at 515 Union St. was condemned after inspectors said they found serious health and safety violations, including an alleged heavy infestation of cockroaches, and the electricity shut off.
While the landlord, listed as Jimmy Davis of No Limit Investment, has corrected various code violations, the condemnation remains in effect in part because the electricity is shut off, DeSousa said.
In addition, the city would need to consider if space is sufficient for that many tenants and if the initial extermination is sufficient, DeSousa said.
The electricity was shut off because of a very large, unpaid electric bill owed by the families, officials said. Daniel Kelly, a lawyer for the landlord, said any code violations that can be corrected without the power being on have been corrected.
Family members said they love Springfield and want to move back. They met with DeSousa during a Housing Court conference Friday for discussion of the condemned apartment.
The adult couple, Haji Mamo and Habiba Said, said through an interpreter earlier although they both have held jobs, they have not been able to keep up with the soaring utility bill, which includes electric heat.
One family initially moved to Springfield in 2003 and subsequently moved to Nashville, Tenn., for two years before retuning to Springfield in recent years. They were joined by Hbiba Said’s sister, a blind widow and her children.
The school-aged children have been transported daily from the Greenfield hotel to their Springfield schools.
The state Department of Children and Families and state Department of Transitional Assistance are believed to be helping the families. In addition, Jewish Family Services, a refugee resettlement agency, had provided services to the first family in 2003, and helped again in 2011, officials said.
Some private donations have been sent to Jewish Family Service to assist the families, said Robert Marmor, president of the local organization.
The landlord had briefly moved the families to a different apartment at 197 Marion St., but the site was also condemned by the city. The code violations have been corrected, but a different family lives there.
Regarding the possibility of the family returning to its Union Street apartment, Kelly said his client cannot act on that until the power is restored.