DEARBORN HEIGHTS, Mich. (WXYZ) — After nearly a year of living in deplorable conditions at Pelham Mobile Home Park, a Dearborn Heights family is finally getting the help they desperately needed.
Jada Dupree and her family have been struggling in a condemned mobile home that lacked running water, had broken floors and ceilings, a faulty thermostat, mold and rats. Dupree says what was sold to them as a "fixer upper" about a year ago turned into a nightmare that left them facing homelessness.
Watch Carli Petrus' video report below:
"Hearing the judge say, you know, I'm sorry I can't send you back there, you have 11 days to leave. Which was devastating and it just broke me completely," Dupree said.
The conditions at their mobile home became so severe that the city of Dearborn Heights condemned their home along with countless others in the park. Having spent all their money to purchase the trailer, Dupree and her boyfriend, who works full time, had nowhere else to go.
"Immediately, I felt just like I lost, like a heart break, like a failed mother, and I didn't know what to do," Dupree said.
I first met Dupree and her family last March when their mobile home wasn't getting any water.
"Can't shower, can't cook," Dupree said at the time.
After months of following their story and advocating for solutions, I reached out to Dearborn Heights Mayor Mo Baydoun, who had just taken office.
"You first called me in my first like three hours in office and you were like we need to help out this family that is at the Pelham trailer park home," Baydoun said.
Watch Carli Petrus' previous report below:
For weeks, the mayor and I discussed the ongoing issues at Pelham Mobile Home Park, where families have faced substandard living conditions for years.
"I know that there's standing litigation. This is probably the strongest approach we've taken against this company. I believe they recently sold it to a new company and this new company is actually working hand in hand with our courts to say we're ready to fix up some of these condemned trailer homes," Baydoun said.
The breakthrough came when Baydoun connected with Vista Maria, a social services nonprofit organization.
"I had a sit down with Vista Maria yesterday and they wanted to do some type of partnership with the city but with all the backlash that they've been getting through the media, I kind of said do I take a step back, do I help them out, what can I do? And I started talking about this family and I said this has been weighing extremely heavy on my chest, and the reality is they're in the business to help people," Baydoun said.
Vista Maria stepped up to provide a solution. The organization is giving Dupree and her family a newly renovated home, rent-free for the next six months. Vista Maria CEO Kathy Regan says they can stay for up to two years.
"That kind of situation can happen to all of us. It's our responsibility — we are our brother's keeper — it's our responsibility to look out for each other, so we can't wait for them to move in," Regan said.
This Christmas, Dupree's family will be spending the holiday in a safe, stable home for the first time in nearly a year.
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