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Disabled Couple's Black Mould Woes: Husband And Wife With Breathing Difficulties Claim Their Council Home Has Been Blighted By Damp For The Past Two Years
A disabled couple say their health is being impacted by the damp and mould that is blighting their Newcastle council house.
Steven and Michelle Rogers have lived in their Lemington house for 24 years, but they say damp and black mould inside their property has been ruining their home for the past couple of years.
Despite regular pleas to Newcastle City Council to fix a window which was not fitted or sealed properly, Steven claims that he is being 'passed from pillar to post' regarding the issue - and the couple's health is now failing.
Steven, 53, who suffers with heart issues, says his asthma is getting worse, with Michelle, 49, who only has one lung and suffers from COPD, having further difficulties breathing.
The couple say the issues at their Dene Avenue home are 'absolutely terrible' and that they have 'had enough'. A spokesperson for the local housing services was 'disappointed' a contractor had not yet attended the property after being requested to in December.
Steven and Michelle Rogers have lived in their Lemington house for 24 years, but they say damp and black mould inside their property has been ruining their home for the past couple of years
The couple say the issues at their Dene Avenue home are 'absolutely terrible' and that they have 'had enough'.
Despite regular pleas to Newcastle City Council to fix a window which was not fitted or sealed properly, Steven claims that he is being 'passed from pillar to post' regarding the issue - and the couple's health is now failing
Steven said: 'This has been going on since the back end of April.
'We've been reporting about our broken window in our home and I've had to seal it up myself with a door seal to stop the wind coming in.
'I've had inspectors out, damp teams, and they just keep passing me from pillar to post.
'We've had about four or five different people out and they say the same thing. I've had a housing officer out because the whole kitchen was damp, the whole gable end.
'We've been fighting for that for over two years and a new kitchen was put in but there was water running down the walls the other week.'
Steven claims one of his windows was not fitted or sealed properly and that a council worker visited their home and said the damp and mould was 'absolutely disgusting'.
But due to the couple's disability issues, Steven says the mould and damp is now severely impacting their health.
Steven continued: 'I've got asthma and heart problems, I've been back and forth to the doctors with my chest and they've put me on tablets for my asthma, which I've never suffered bad with.
'My wife, she's got one lung and COPD, her breathing has been horrific lately. She's had to have a stairlift fitted.
'Where we sleep, the damp is behind us. We've had to buy a new bed because the mould was actually growing on the back of the bed.'
Speaking of the delays in rectifying the issues, Steven added: 'It's absolutely terrible, I've had enough. They're promising us with this and that, and there's just nothing at all happening...It's affecting me mentally.'
Steven claims one of his windows was not fitted or sealed properly and that a council worker visited their home and said the damp and mould was 'absolutely disgusting
Steven claims one of his windows was not fitted or sealed properly and that a council worker visited their home and said the damp and mould was 'absolutely disgusting
Due to the couple's disability issues, Steven says the mould and damp is now severely impacting their health
Helen Sammut-Smith, Assistant Director Housing Services at Your Homes Newcastle, says a new loft insulation was installed following a survey of the property in January 2023.
The service say they were told by a contractor there was no issue with the window, but requested an additional survey following another complaint. It also came back showing no issue.
A housing officer was then sent to the house and realised the window need a repair to the seal, which Ms Sammut-Smith says a contractor was ordered in December and was 'disappointed that they have not followed this up before now'.
The assistant director said: 'One of our housing officers then visited the property and realised that the window does in fact need a repair to the seal, and we requested this from the same contractor in December.
'We are disappointed that they have not followed this up before now and have been assured that someone will attend the property this week.'
Philly Students Tackle Mental Health With Free Online App And Help From Eagles Player Lane Johnson
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For many teens, growing up means grappling with a triple threat: the lingering pandemic, suffocating social expectations, and a world often marred by violence and economic hardship. The result? A generation struggling to breathe under the weight of mental health challenges.
Seventeen-year-old Joshua Scotland is a junior at Northeast High School and says being a teen today comes with its own problems, and that most of his peers don't feel comfortable talking about their issues to others.
"We just want to stay to ourselves and not really share anything, we just want to be alone, that's really what is happening to our generation," said Scotland.
Joshua Scotland, 17, is a junior at Northeast High School. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY) He says a lot of issues teens face while living in Philadelphia can be more stressful than their counterparts who live outside of the city.
Seeing friends lose their life to gun violence, suffer in poverty, or face struggles at home can all contribute to their mental health suffering.
Scotland shared, "A lot of things can affect your mental health. School, work, especially at home, a lot of kids go through things at home," which he says can have a negative impact at school.
"They come to school, and it messes with their whole emotion, your mood." 
Joshua Scotland, 17, is a junior at Northeast High School. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
The School District of Philadelphia is working to change that. They introduced a new online multi-platform tool called Kooth, which offers students in the district free mental health resources — including counseling, journaling, and a message board for students to communicate with each other anonymously about their mental health challenges.
Dr. Jayme Banks, the school district's deputy chief of prevention, intervention, and trauma, says it's working.
"They can do this with a whole lot of privacy. The whole world doesn't have to see them go into the counselor's office," he said.
The numbers don't lie: After the pandemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report showing how students were impacted mentally by the pandemic. The results revealed high school students were under more mental threats than their previous counterparts.
According to the data in 2021, more than one-third of high school students reported they experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic, and 44% reported they persistently felt sad or hopeless during the past year.
Banks shares it's more common that you think.
"Rebounding from COVID things pile on top of each other. It's not just one issue, it's a multitude of issues that affect our family."
She says just some of the feelings they face daily can be overwhelming, including "anxiety, feelings of depression, feelings of anger because of all that has gone on."
The analyses prove some of the severe challenges youth encountered and continue to face after the pandemic.
Which is why the school district hoped an incentive to get its students active on Kooth over the summer would help them improve mentally and continue into the rest of the school year.
It worked; the summer wellness challenge brought thousands of students across the district onto the app. The district offered the school with the highest number of users a chance to meet Kooth ambassador and Philadelphia Eagles player Lane Johnson.
On November 28, Johnson surprised Scotland and several hundred of his classmates at a pep rally at Northeast High School after they won the challenge where Johnson opened up about his own mental health struggles.
"You feel like you're the only person maybe going through this stuff," Johnson said, and assured them they were not alone.
"What I realized is, a lot of my teammates, a lot of my friends, were going through the same troubles that I was."
Johnson was the first player in the league to take a leave of absence from the season due to mental health challenges, and has joined Kooth to bring more awareness and support around mental health to young people in Philadelphia and across Pennsylvania.
"My coach always said no man is an island, you draw your strength from others," said Johnson.
Scotland says seeing Johnson and the support from the district has inspired him and others to also be more open about their mental health challenges and continue to put their mental health first.
Scotland shared this message with fellow classmates: "I understand there are certain days you want to give up, you feel lazy, tired but you can't really give up." 
Joshua Scotland, 17, is a junior at Northeast High School. (Kimberly Paynter/WHYY)
The district says Kooth will be available to all students within the district for free and encourages students to sign up and take advantage of the mental health resources.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
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