by Diana Pando
Mayra was living with her three children in a cramped basement apartment. The apartment was in bad shape, but when she raised concerns with the landlord, he did nothing to address them. Then her sons started to get sick. She took them to the doctor, who informed her that her children had high levels of lead in their systems.
Deeply concerned for her children’s health and safety and fearing it was the apartment that was making them sick, she began an apartment search. She found some that were beautiful but also well out of her price range, while others were in bad conditions.
Mayra knew the longer her family stayed in their current apartment, the worse her children’s health would get. Finally, she was referred to The Resurrection Project (TRP). She applied and was approved for an apartment. Soon after, Mayra moved her children into a three-bedroom apartment at TRP’s Casa Tabasco in the Little Village neighborhood.
“My children now have the space they need,” she says, “and they’re happy here because it’s their home.”
The move into the new apartment has also impacted her children’s health; their lead levels dropped soon after the move and they are now in good health. She attributes this to the environment they now live in.
“These are dignified apartments that are well maintained and have everything people could want,” she said of Casa Tabasco. “If there were more apartments like the ones at Casa Tabasco, TRP would continue creating even more healthy communities.”

Return to Nueva Vida October 2014 here.