POOR TENANTS KICKED AROUND by DERA

POOR TENANTS KICKED AROUND by DERA
DERA was Major Organizer of Recent Squat


PRESS RELEASE

Vancouver, BC

Following in the footsteps of the North Star hotel Squat, tenants of the Pendera building located at 133 West Pender have been left without their government paid housing staff who were off participating and getting arrested as a result of their misguided actions. Moreover, for three consecutive days now, the Pendera building is left without any hot water.

To back up her claims, this blogwriter cites the arrests of Aaron Muirhead, the full-time daytime manager of the Pendera building and Kim Kerr who is the executive officer of DERA, who also was arrested at the North Star Squat. Both are instrumental members of Anti Poverty Committee.

" The tenants who live at the Pendera, many who are elderly and live with serious and chronic health problems have no hot water and this creates unsafe and unhealthy conditions for them ", states Ms Hamilton.

Danny Kostyshin, another tenant of the Pendera, states, "what the hell is Dera doing -- they have no moral right fighting to help poor tenants when they themselves can't even look after their own building -- by ensuring their tenants live in safe, healthy and quality run public housing".

Another serious problem at the Pendera is Mold and is another example of which DERA and in particular, Kim Kerr, are grossly negligent. By neglect, Mr. Kerr has allowed the building to deteriorate badly. This has caused serious exacerbation of health problems for the tenants.

Widespread mold has been found in the Pendera and both myself and Kostyshin as former board members, attempted on numerous occasions to bring this serious problem to the attention of Mr Kerr who constantly poo-pooed the idea that tenants at relatively youngish ages were dropping like flies and many tenants were complaining of sudden respiratory illnesses in the building.

" Dera needs to get its act together and clean up its own backyard before holing up in an empty Shanty building and leaving its own tenants at grave risk by abandoning them ", states Ms Hamilton.

The Pendera tenants are requesting the intervention of BC Housing and Mr Lorne Mayencourt, government MLA for Vancouver-Burrard. We want the Pendera building to be taken out of the control of DERA and placed under the direct management of BC Housing.

Mr Kostyshin and Ms Hamilton on behalf of other Pendera tenants if no action is immediately forthcoming, will consider seeking legal intervention, including a possible class action suit against DERA, Kim Kerr and BC Housing.

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