DETROIT – Dozens of people packed a town hall meeting Tuesday night in the Jefferson-Chalmers neighborhood in Detroit to voice their concerns about their flooded, sewage-soaked basements and the health concerns arising from the problem.
People are frustrated that there was no resolution at the meeting, but it gave the residents an opportunity to discuss some of their frustrations and talk about how having the stench of raw sewage in their homes could be affecting their health.
Essie Campbell-Brown, 80, was emotional as she looked at her family pictures that were ruined when her basement flooded earlier this year.
"All this was in the basement," Campbell said. "I had a living room down there, couch, everything we lost. All I've (done) since July was just sit here and cry."
Now the room is covered with mold and cut drywall and the paint is gone from where floodwater and sewage once stood. It's an empty room that was once finished and full of furniture.
She said the smell that still lingers is making her sick.
"Us poor people that are out in this area that have been out here for years and years and years, and paying $1,800, $1,900 twice a year for taxes, and can't get anything done," she said. "We got to walk out here and smell this stuff. My head has been hurting me ever since July from the smell of the sewer that came up."
Dozens of residents are hoping to get answers about what's being done to prevent flooding in the future and any health risks associated with flooded homes.
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