Hello/I need advice quickly!!!!

[pakajaka]

Hi, I am new and I have a problem but first let me say Hi to all of you and I am so happy I found this forum. My glasses are dirty too, plus I am half blind so I upped the font and I might have done it wrong so when I send this if there is junk that is seen, then that is me being computer illiterate again.

Ok, let me explain, this might be long but any input will be so appreciated. I looked at the catagories and it didn't fit anywhere as I have too many issues involved.

I was a nurse all my life but with difficulty as I was very hard of hearing. It really caused a lot of stress and I eventually became ill and was awarded SSD in 1996. I lived with my mom at the time, now she is very elderly so that is out of the question.

Because my income was low I was given a housing voucher. I found a decent place where I felt safe (the most important thing when deaf and living alone) and so I put up with my landlord, the meanest man on the planet Earth.

I started out with a year lease and then month to month the last 5 years since being accepted with housing.

I have been having a mold problem and have been complaining along with the other tenants (4 apt bldg. unit) but they have only been here a short time as the other tenants died. I am the scapegoat. I complained to my landlord on Saturday ( very hard for me to communicate) and he told me in a letter slid under my door on Sunday that he is not renewing my lease and I have to be out by the end of the month (5/31/10).

I have no idea what I am going to do as in this area the housing complexes are horrible and for deaf people especially very very unsafe.

I have my name on a waiting list for a new senior citizen complex. I am in my mid 60's. The waiting list is 4 years, I have 3 more to go, unless you become wheelchair bound then you are put in front of the list. I find this very offensive as I feel like deafness is being overlooked as it can't be seen like a wheelchair can. At least I felt safe here, so I ignored my landlords crap and stayed as I live on a beautiful street in a beautiful town. (very historical).

I have had 2 surgeries for deafness for Otosclerosis but it has turned into nerve deafness. I have hearing aids which are useless. Using the aids, I get ear infections and can't hear anything except garble except when facing someone who speaks clear and I can sometime read lips with no background noise. I use very amplified phones from the deaf society and I can't hear hardly anything on them anymore and I am going to go text when I move, I use special ear phones with my TV with my sound off or my neighbors would be blown out the windows. I live on a very busy street and without my aids ( never wear them in the house due to infections) I can't hear any traffic with the windows wide open. I can't hear my fans, phone rings or doorbells. I really just isolated myself as it was all too stressful and I felt safer being in the house.

Now I have to move. Do I have any recourse with the ADA to get me to the front of the list in a safe place and be treated like a person with a disability like a person in a wheelchair?

Can anyone give me any advice? I live in Pa. (Lower Bucks County) on the river directly across the water from Burlington, NJ. If anyone lives near me, thye know what town and street I live on due to my explanation. But, I am taking the chance that someone near me might be able to help me find a safe place.

How can I do this all in 30 days, now less than that? I am one person. I can't talk on the phone properly to even look for a place and when I have looked at a couple and you tell people that you are hard of hearing, even with my aids, all I hear is background and mumbling and I end up leaving as I don't like the places anyway and conversing is next to impossible. Actually I only looked today as I just got the letter but I have looked other times too, just because. My friends dropped away as soon as my hearing went as I was not fun anymore. They got tired of me.

My family lives in other States (except my son), my dad is deceased and my mom is elderly.

Please help me, any advice will do!!!Please address the ADA issues and living facilities that I have to wait for as I am not wheelchair bound. <sigh> Am I not disabled to want to be safe?

Thanks in advance and sorry this is so long.

 

[pakajaka]

43 people later...0 replies!

Was it my breath?

 

[Frisky Feline]

Ha no. I am sorry about your situation. I am not sure what to answer. i just bump this thread to let anyone to see here who knows a little more. =/

apparently you have a computer. have you try to contact ADA website to find more information about it?

 

[Bottesini]

43 people later...0 replies!

Was it my breath?

What can we say?

You already seem defeated. First suggestion is if you can't hear a conversation, write it down and have the others write it down.

And as far as I am concerned, if you are deaf, you are not disabled.

The wheelchair accessible units should be saved for people in wheelchairs.

 

[wavedancer]

Yikes ! Someone else with a mold problem. I'm currently living in a hotel on account of mine. (well, we thiNK, it's mold anyway)

First thing, DON'T PANIC !! Take a few deep breaths, armour yourself up, for a bit of a fight. At least contemplate repeating to yourself, " i can DO this" several times, real slow like.

I've never lived In PA so i don't know what the rental laws are there, chances are pretty good the landlord can't actually force you out for at least two months. Second thing you likely want to do is find out what the rental laws are in PA. See if you can get a copy of the important ones, especailly if there's one that says the landlord can''t interfere with the "quiet enjoyment" of your rental. I've actally had landlords thrown out of thier own houses for that in NY.

Also, call around by relay or email, or IM, lawyers to get a "free consulation", they often give you an hour and might be able to give you an idea of who else you can go to. Sometimes, if they think you have some sort of case, they offer to work "on spec" and not get paid until you win. Mostl though you are after information. In a pinch there is prolly some sort of legal aide you can call.

Depending on your religion, your house of worship might also provide some help/ or ideas or access to people willing to help you out.

IF all else fails, there is always the local building inspector and your senator/representive...You know those people you voted for, or other people voted for. They can actaullly be pretty helpful sometimes.

Not sure if any of that helped, but some of it might buy you a little more time to get yourself settled. I'll p oke around this evening and see if i can find any helpful numbers for you. :P

Good luck ! And remember, you can DO this !

 

[Hollykins1]

I agree with WaveDancer. Don't panic yet.

I don't know your state's laws, but mold is a serious issue - one that the landlord can face serious consequences by not fixing. It is seeming like he doesn't want to deal with it since you got told you were not being renewed.

The thing is without a lease, he probably feels he can - and in most places, he is right. BUT, the mold issue makes things different. And that is why you need to go further and get help. Wavedancer has some good ideas and thoughts.

 

[Hutt5asl]

I think WaveDancer has some good suggestions for you. I wish I could give you more advice, but in any case... Welcome to AllDeaf!

 

[aRachel]

First of all, be calm and breathe.

Second, are you still receiving a housing voucher? If you are, then contact the agency you receive it through and inform them of the troubles that you are having. I believe that if you are still receiving the housing voucher you may have some course of action through them or at least they may be able to help. I was under the impression that they only dealt with landlords on a yearly basis, not month to month.

Unfortunately, In PA a landlord only has to give you 14 days notice on a month to month lease if they decide not to renew your lease.

Good Luck!

 

[Berry]

Not sure what the laws are in your state but as a general rule there are certain reasons a landlord CANNOT kick you out. Number one among these is asking for you rights.

You immediately have to find legal aid.

That may be a problem in and of itself depending on the area you live in.

From what I know of law this has little or nothing to do with deafness or disability. It is a health issue. On the other hand it does have to do with attempting to bully someone who is deaf and taking advantage of the deaf person to deny them their rights.

Fine lines. You need someone who knows the law to represent you. First step is to get a stay of execution on the eviction order. This is usually easy. Just convince the judge the matter is not cut and dried. It needs further investigation by the court to determine the validity of your position.

The last time I had a problem concerning health I called the health department and they closed the entire operation down. It did not help me find a new place to live but I took some satisfaction in the fact the landlord had far worse problems than I did.

 

[pakajaka]

Thank you for your advice but before each of you offered it I did brainstorm myself and did all that was mentioned.

I called the Boro Inspector who came out and was no help at all and told me he would make an appointment with the landlord to get into other apts and the basement and I have not heard back.

I went to housing, they said he has a right to not renew for NO REASON, so they could not help.

I called Legal Aid, same answer.

I already had called my State senators office and a nice person was going to look into it. I got a couple call backs that they left messages with people and are waiting call backs.

I have looked at every apartment in the newspaper, list from housing etc, and there is nothing that I qualify for that is not drug and roach infested.

I am a Christian and I do have the Deacons on my side with many prayers but of course they can't help me with get an apartment with a housing voucher.

About the person that got upset that I was calling deafness a disabilty, I am sorry if I offended but it very much is. Life has to be changed for everything. Plus it makes a difference about safety when you can't hear. If we get defensive about it that doesn't help. I am on SSD because of loss of hearing, so yes, deafness is a disabilty

So far I still don't have an apartment and I have not even acknowledged my landlords letter as he has a huge reputation of bullying, wearing his tenants down and winning at all cost. He is highly intelligent and shrewd.

He has been nothing short of impatient with me for 5 years due to my hearing loss. This is the world we live in, people like him take advantage when they can. The law should protect me about mold but apparently it has not so far. Fighting the mold problem just buys me a month, but then he will not renew my lease again so I would be back to square one anyway.

I am done with him, I just need a place to live. He even stuck it to me to me that I have to be out May 31 which is Memorial Day weekend and one can't find anyone to move anything plus all places are closed for utilitie transfers etc.
So, in reality I have 2 more weeks.

It is a good thing that I have tons of faith.

About the Senior citizen place, yes, I do think that disabled people should go to the front of the list when they can't find anyplace safe that is due to their disabilty and they have to move. Same as wheelchair, they are put in front of list for safety reasons where there are ramps etc. although people do live in places in W/C's that are not W/C assessible but not safely sp I think the same rule should apply.

Thanks again for replying but believe me I tried it all, I just thought maybe someone had some other idea. I also did call the ADA. Not much help there.

 

[Bottesini]

About the person that got upset that I was calling deafness a disabilty, I am sorry if I offended but it very much is. Life has to be changed for everything. Plus it makes a difference about safety when you can't hear. If we get defensive about it that doesn't help. I am on SSD because of loss of hearing, so yes, deafness is a disabilty


I

That would be me, the most hostile deaf/blind person here.

Everything you say about deafness leads me to believe that since you are a late deafened person, you should have had some training and education to help you adjust.

We do have deaf doctors and nurses here as our members, and they work while deaf.

It bothers me when people dwell on the dangers that accompany being deaf. That is really exaggerated .

You will find if you stay here that most deaf people do not like the term "hearing impaired" and do not consider deafness disability.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

Hi, I am new and I have a problem but first let me say Hi to all of you and I am so happy I found this forum. My glasses are dirty too, plus I am half blind so I upped the font and I might have done it wrong so when I send this if there is junk that is seen, then that is me being computer illiterate again.

Ok, let me explain, this might be long but any input will be so appreciated. I looked at the catagories and it didn't fit anywhere as I have too many issues involved.

I was a nurse all my life but with difficulty as I was very hard of hearing. It really caused a lot of stress and I eventually became ill and was awarded SSD in 1996. I lived with my mom at the time, now she is very elderly so that is out of the question.

Because my income was low I was given a housing voucher. I found a decent place where I felt safe (the most important thing when deaf and living alone) and so I put up with my landlord, the meanest man on the planet Earth.

I started out with a year lease and then month to month the last 5 years since being accepted with housing.

I have been having a mold problem and have been complaining along with the other tenants (4 apt bldg. unit) but they have only been here a short time as the other tenants died. I am the scapegoat. I complained to my landlord on Saturday ( very hard for me to communicate) and he told me in a letter slid under my door on Sunday that he is not renewing my lease and I have to be out by the end of the month (5/31/10).

I have no idea what I am going to do as in this area the housing complexes are horrible and for deaf people especially very very unsafe.

I have my name on a waiting list for a new senior citizen complex. I am in my mid 60's. The waiting list is 4 years, I have 3 more to go, unless you become wheelchair bound then you are put in front of the list. I find this very offensive as I feel like deafness is being overlooked as it can't be seen like a wheelchair can. At least I felt safe here, so I ignored my landlords crap and stayed as I live on a beautiful street in a beautiful town. (very historical).

I have had 2 surgeries for deafness for Otosclerosis but it has turned into nerve deafness. I have hearing aids which are useless. Using the aids, I get ear infections and can't hear anything except garble except when facing someone who speaks clear and I can sometime read lips with no background noise. I use very amplified phones from the deaf society and I can't hear hardly anything on them anymore and I am going to go text when I move, I use special ear phones with my TV with my sound off or my neighbors would be blown out the windows. I live on a very busy street and without my aids ( never wear them in the house due to infections) I can't hear any traffic with the windows wide open. I can't hear my fans, phone rings or doorbells. I really just isolated myself as it was all too stressful and I felt safer being in the house.

Now I have to move. Do I have any recourse with the ADA to get me to the front of the list in a safe place and be treated like a person with a disability like a person in a wheelchair?

Can anyone give me any advice? I live in Pa. (Lower Bucks County) on the river directly across the water from Burlington, NJ. If anyone lives near me, thye know what town and street I live on due to my explanation. But, I am taking the chance that someone near me might be able to help me find a safe place.

How can I do this all in 30 days, now less than that? I am one person. I can't talk on the phone properly to even look for a place and when I have looked at a couple and you tell people that you are hard of hearing, even with my aids, all I hear is background and mumbling and I end up leaving as I don't like the places anyway and conversing is next to impossible. Actually I only looked today as I just got the letter but I have looked other times too, just because. My friends dropped away as soon as my hearing went as I was not fun anymore. They got tired of me.

My family lives in other States (except my son), my dad is deceased and my mom is elderly.

Please help me, any advice will do!!!Please address the ADA issues and living facilities that I have to wait for as I am not wheelchair bound. <sigh> Am I not disabled to want to be safe?

Thanks in advance and sorry this is so long.

First let me say that I'm hearing, but, disabled. I am wheelchair bound and I'm also trying to get into a unit. You're right. The waiting lists in most states are long; some longer than others. I would be greatly offended if someone put you ahead of someone else for wheelchair accessible section 8 housing. You simply shouldn't qualify for it simply because you're deaf; even if by law, you are considered disabled. I'm sorry, but that is life. You would be better served to learn how to adapt to your deafness. There are ways to make life safer for yourself. Just about everyone here has done it.

I would suggest asking your relatives for temporary housing until you can find permanent housing for yourself.

Good luck.

 

[rockin'robin]

Sad to hear of ur problems....have you tried ur Church? Or Churches in ur area? Even looked for a "room"? Lots cheaper....Going to a hotel until you can find another place?...Even the Homeless Shelter would put you up maybe for a few days if necessary.....Any friends?....What about any of ur family?....