There is a problem here on Orcas that is ugly and uncomfortable to face. It affects a segment of our community that feels powerless to speak up.

Many of the extremely low-income families on our island are living in rundown, moldy, drafty homes. And their landlords do little to fix appliances and water leaks or provide adequate heat and insulation. A majority of these houses are not even cleaned before the tenant moves in – this includes carpets, bathrooms, and kitchens that are filthy.

Erin O’Dell, who is the Family Support Specialist for Orcas Family Connections, sees families who are at the Federal poverty level and struggle just to get by from day to day.

“They don’t feel empowered to say, ‘Hey, this is not right.’ Their kids are getting sick from mildew, their appliances don’t work, but they don’t say anything. They either don’t know that they can or they are afraid to lose their housing. And if they do speak up, their landlord sometimes will fix something, but it doesn’t improve the overall quality of living.”

Orcas Family Connections is a non-profit organization founded by the directors of the four island preschools and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program to help families with children from ages birth to five. O’Dell assists with applications for food stamps and health benefits, parent education, delivering clothes and groceries, and obtaining preschool scholarships. O’Dell speaks Spanish, and many of the families she interacts with are from Mexico. But she is adamant that the locals living in substandard housing are both English and non-English speakers.

It’s shocking to think that we have slumlords on Orcas – but it seems we do. O’Dell says she has intervened and called homeowners herself. In one case, during the severe storms in December, a family was without water for days and had smoke coming into their house from a faulty chimney. It took days – and several phone calls from O’Dell – for the landlord to come and fix the water. The wood stove has still not been repaired.

Is it because these families are poor? Or because they don’t say anything? No matter what the reason, it is inexcusable and unacceptable. These are landlords with kids of their own who wouldn’t dream of living in the very houses that they rent out to other island families. It is incredibly sad that in a community which prides itself on taking care of all of its members – rich or poor, young or old – that this is happening. And that it seems to go on under the radar.

If you rent out a home or apartment, remember that it is your legal and ethical duty to provide a safe and clean home for your tenants. We all deserve at least that.

And to those landlords who do treat their tenants fairly – thank you.