Mold Remediation Makes Veteran Home Habitable, Safe
Jibrell Crump continued a family tradition when she joined the Army in 2008.
She added a twist, however, by being the first woman in her family to enlist.
She had planned to make a career out of the Army but during a deployment to Iraq there was an attack and Jibrell was injured. She honorably discharged in 2010.
Jibrell settled in Humble, Texas, because it was not too far from her family in Louisiana. Still, they are far enough away that she does not have family support in Humble.
In 2021, when she had to move out of an apartment she was living in because of mold, her landlord offered to sell her a property he owned. Jibrell was worried about the state of the house, especially mold. At the same time, her credit was not good, and she did not think she would have another chance. She insisted on a mold inspection. The house passed.
Soon after moving in, the problems started. She was coughing, had trouble breathing and began getting sick regularly.
“Their giving genuinely saves lives.” – Jibrell Crump, Army veteran
“I was getting hospitalized once a week,” she said. “It got so bad to the point they had to do surgery on me. I’ve never had surgery before. The mold got into my lungs.”
The doctors could not figure out the problem. They had a litany of possible ailments from COVID to COPD. She had to look for the mold in her house and eventually found some in a wall. The landlord would not fix it and her homeowner’s insurance did not cover remediation. She tried to clean it but was unable to get it all. She moved into the detached garage, which was not actually made for living.
Estimates for mold remediation were thousands of dollars. Jibrell reached out to organizations for help. Through her research, she learned about Operation Homefront’s Critical Financial Assistance program. Thanks to the support of generous donors, Jibrell was able have the costly and timely mold remediation completed at a cost of approximately $20,300.
Unfortunately, most of her belongings, furniture and even appliances were thrown out. She is still trying to recover both physically and financially. Even so, without Operation Homefront, she would still be living in her small, detached garage.
“I would want the donors to know what they are giving is not in vain,” she said. “It’s very much appreciated. Their giving genuinely saves lives. They have no idea the magnitude of help they are generating for folks like me. We get out and try to do right. I have no family support. It’s just me. I have my own mental illness and just adding on does not help the situation just aggravates it even more. By having an organization that is willing to help us lighten the load it means the world.”
