JBLM families poised to sue over mold in houses

Chelsea Johnson is a military spouse living on Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM).

Is JBLM any different than any other Army base?

“My entire family and I have been very sick,” she said. She says her doctors blame it on living with mold. Johnson shared pictures of mold in her on-post home. They moved into the home in August.

Mold can be seen in pictures of her JBLM on-base home. They moved here after leaving another house infested with mold. She says her young daughter suffers rashes from the mold.

“I’m not mad, I’m disgusted. I’m disgusted. My husband’s out fighting for our country, spending months upon end away from his family and coming home to a home that’s not even livable. How is that even fair?”

Melissa Godoy shared video from her old house on JBLM. She’s fought this battle for years and has now organized families for a lawsuit against the private company that owns 5,000 JBLM houses — Lincoln Military Housing.

“It has affected my health, I think, for the rest of my life. I have asthma. I’ve never had breathing problems in my life,” Godoy said.

“When homes require extensive maintenance, Lincoln Military Housing moves residents into temporary lodging at no cost to them.,” said JBLM’s Garrison Commander, Col. Skye Duncan, in a statement to KIRO-7.

The forgotten early history of Joint Base Lewis-McChord

“We, as leaders at JBLM, remain 100 percent committed to the health and welfare of all …working and living on base,” he said.

But frustrated with constant mold, Godoy just recently moved her family into a rental house off post at a cost of $6,000.

Monday afternoon, Chelsea Johnson was told she and her family will have to move into a hotel for  awhile.

“I’ve moved twice now or will be twice once they displace me again in less than six months. It’s bad enough that I have to move every three years and now I have to do it again at the fault of their negligence,” she said tearfully.

Then she gathered her resolve.

“But I will do anything to protect my family, anything to protect my family.”

Written by Essex Porter