IS TOXIC MOLD MAKING YOU SICK?
Toxic Mold and Environmental Justice:
an informational blog & community resource
Toxic mold is a SILENT KILLER disproportionally preying on the economically disadvantaged and historically marginalized. It is our duty to act in community to spread awareness about the health effects of toxic mold, offer healing and solutions, drive legislative change, and save lives. Toxic mold exposure should be considered among the likes of environmental hazards like lead or asbestos that continue to affect the exposed victims for years to come or even a lifetime.
Elevating the voices of victims
Do their experiences sound similar to yours?
"After my son died, I knew. I knew it was mold,” said Shavontae Melchor.
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Shavontae lost two precious young children in the span of less than 2 years.
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Shavontae’s son, Kivonni, died at three weeks old. Her daughter Khalani died at eleven months old. Scientists found very high levels of the toxic mold Chaetonium in Shavontae's former home.
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SEARCHING FOR JUSTICE
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When Shavontae, concerned for her health and safety spoke to the director of the low-income housing she occupied after her children died, the director only moved her to another unit within the sample complex-- one that ALSO contained mold
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The housing director was fired after Shavontae's story gained traction in the media
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Tragically, the GoFundMe page Shavontae created to pay for her children’s funeral services has only raised $1,506 dollars since it was published 27 months ago, yet the campaign remains open. Individuals can still donate.
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Donate Here
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Click the image of Shavontae to watch a video interview
Gina Lopez from Santa Fe, New Mexico, shares in an interview,” I truly thought I was going to die and did not know what to do. This was a very emotional time…I just kept getting sicker and sicker, nothing seemed to help” (Interview With Toxic Mold Survivor: Gina Lopez).
In Jordan Aspen’s blog for Medium is titled “I was Misdiagnosed with Postpartum Depression" she paints how the manifestations of her symptoms of toxic mold exposure were neurological and psychiatric and how she was subsequently misdiagnosed, her suffering ignored.
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Check out this article from psychology today on the psychiatric effects of toxic mold exposure
Losing everything
Research suggests that individuals suffering from the effects of toxic mold often lose everything. This is why toxic mold is especially devastating for individuals already experiencing economic hardship.
First, the finances of toxic mold victims suffer when they cannot work due to the health effects of neurotoxic mold.
Second, peoples' treasured possessions like books, furniture, and clothing need to be discarded when they get contaminated. Items kept in moldy environments collect spores and become dangerous.
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The privileges of starting over, moving, or getting rid of contaminated personal belongings are not privileges avaliable to everyone.
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( that's mold on the shoes)