News

Trailer park could be shut down as 'public nuisance'

A 26-year-old mother of a newborn lives in a trailer with no running water.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 3, 2015

* * * *

The 26-year-old mother of the newborn, who did not want her name used in a newspaper article, faces numerous challenges with sanitation. Born at Pardee, her son was transferred to Mission hospital's neonatal unit.
"He was born with an immune deficiency," she said. "Everything needs to be sterile. It can't be sterile without water. You can't get it clean and (have) no bacteria without water. ... When the water did get turned on for a little bit it leaked out on my floor. My floor has got the smell of mildew all through my house so we're sleeping in the living room. It's horrible." That means mom and baby and two other children, and the children's father, who is undocumented. No water means no hot water, which means heating water for cleaning, cooking and bathing.
"Yeah, on the stove," she said. "Now that our stove doesn't work and they're not fixing it, we have to heat it up in the microwave or outside on the grill."