Courtney’s Story
Courtney is a veteran, a parent of a child with special needs, and a person diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). She was honorably discharged from the Air Force after 10 years of service to our country. Courtney now lives with long-term disability due to her PTSD and the trauma she experienced while serving. When she left the Air Force, she moved back to Kent County, DE and began working to support people with disabilities as they navigate finding employment and housing opportunities.
During the summer of 2017, the home that Courtney rented for her family began to fall into disrepair. The heating and cooling systems became non-existent leading to a spread of mold throughout the home, and the home became infested with mice. Courtney approached her landlord to address these issues, to no avail.
Toward the end of the summer, Courtney’s son was hospitalized and Courtney’s PTSD flared up, causing her to step away from her job to take care of herself and her son. During this time, the problems with the house escalated and now she couldn’t keep up with rent payments. The landlord evicted Courtney from the house that was deemed unfit for human habitation, and gain a judgement for $5,000 in previous rent. Courtney and her children had nowhere to go.
At this time in her story, Courtney found CLASI and Bill Molchen, an attorney in CLASI’s Medical Legal Partnership program. Through Bill’s advocacy, Courtney was able to counter-sue the landlord for keeping her and her family in substandard living conditions, and she won the case.
Bill also helped Courtney advocate for a VA loan that allowed her to buy her first home, where she and her family are now living comfortably. Courtney is so appreciative of the legal aid provided by CLASI that she recently testified on behalf of legal aid at a Joint Finance Committee hearing in Dover.
