Linda just wants a place that she can call home

BY JACKIE KEOGH

IN the bathroom and the bedrooms, in the hallway and on the stairs, Linda Williamson’s home is covered in black mould.

‘It’s getting worse,’ said Linda, the 24-year old mother of Lola Kate (2) and John Patrick, who is just six months old.

‘It’s affecting our health. I am depressed living here, but Lola is constantly sick with bronchitis, and the baby had tonsillitis when he was just a few weeks old.

‘I’ve been to the doctor loads of times with Lola and she has told me that it is not good for me or the children to be living in these conditions.

‘My social worker has also told me that the house in West Green, Dunmanway, is unsuitable for me and my children.’

Linda has been living in the house for the last seven months and is dreading the winter because she can’t afford to constantly run the electric heating to keep the dampness at bay.

‘Every house that I have had has been damp. I’ve moved a good few times in an attempt to get a better house, but it isn’t working.

‘The housing department in Clonakilty has told me that I am not a priority at the moment, and that the two bedroom house will have to do.

‘But the fact is that I am actually only using one of the bedrooms because one room is so damp that it wouldn’t be safe to use.

‘I wouldn’t let my kids inhale that,’ she said. ‘You just have to look at it to know it is a health hazard. ‘I am aware that there are 268 vacant houses that the Council could do up and I’d be happy to move into any one of those if they were made habitable.

‘I decided to contact The Southern Star because I want people to see the conditions I am living in. I have had enough. I want a place that I can call home,’ said the young mother.

Cork County Council’s housing department does not comment on individual cases.