ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — A drive-by shooting three years ago left Shannon Richmond confined to a wheelchair and a recent mold infestation in her St. Petersburg apartment left her homeless – until Consumer Reporter Jackie Callaway got involved in her case.
Richmond told ABC Action News most recent trouble started after she returned from a lengthy hospital stay and found mold and mildew covering everything in her apartment.
“I turned on my living room light and my heart dropped,” she said about returning home to find her home ruined.
Richmond has already thrown out her living room furniture and says she will be forced to trash her clothes and everything else in her bedroom, which is also covered in mold.
“I evacuated on (Nov. 16) from my apartment and I’ve been in a hotel ever since,” said a tearful Richmond.
She suspects an undetected leak caused the mold growth while she was in the hospital.
It’s the second time in three years suffered a major loss. In 2015, a drive-by shooting left her partially paralyzed and wheelchair-bound. She was just an innocent bystander.
Richmond’s landlord refused to pay for temporary housing, so she called the St. Petersburg Housing Authority for help in finding a new place to live. Days went by, however, and she still had no place to live.
That’s when ABC Action News got involved.
Richmond found an apartment in Largo and is moving in this week after Consumer Reporter Jackie Callaway reached out to housing authority officials in St. Petersburg and Pinellas County.
Callaway also contacted Richmond’s former landlord, who has now agreed to return half of her October’s rent.
