‘Nobody cares’: Hopewell housing authority under fire over mold, safety issues and use of $5 million federal grant

HOPEWELL, Va. (WRIC) -- The city of Hopewell officials and residents pressed the city's housing authority for answers Tuesday over the use of a $5 million federal housing grant, as residents cited ongoing mold and safety issues in public housing.

During a joint meeting with the Hopewell City Council and the Hopewell Redevelopment & Housing Authority (HRHA) on Tuesday, Jan. 20, council members and HRHA commissioners expressed frustration with the agency's executive director, Lisa Wilson, who was appointed as the interim chief executive officer in May 2024.

Several questioned why about $5 million in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) funding allocated for mold remediation has not been used since it was awarded in 2024. Other concerns were also raised about security cameras that have been nonoperational since August 2025.

According to Hopewell Mayor Johnny Partin, tenants' issues were not being resolved with the HRHA, citing issues with the board, as well as policy and administrative function.

"We've got to try something new because clearly what was happening for many years was not working," Partin said during the meeting.

Tuesday's issues with HUD money for mold remediation were not the first time tenants expressed serious concerns about the HRHA.

Partin also cited multiple other issues with HRHA, which include favoritism complaints, tenant rent and utility miscalculations and problems with rodent infestation -- all of which resulted in HUD beginning an investigation in 2017, he said.

After tenants of the HRHA were charged high utility surcharges after their utility allowances were not properly set from June 2024 to September 2018, they filed a class action lawsuit against the HRHA. Those tenants have been awarded $220,000 and a waiver for certain charges, per Partin.

In 2024, HRHA received a $5 million federal grant from HUD to address health-related hazards, such as mold and environmental health issues, in public housing.

Wilson said the city of Hopewell was the only housing authority in Virginia to receive this funding.

Commissioners questioned why only 15 units have been remediated since the grant was awarded two years ago and why full inspections are only now beginning.

RELATED: Hopewell picks new city clerk after firing previous without cause

Residents voice concerns about untreated mold, poor living conditions in public housing

Residents raised serious concerns about poor living conditions and a lack of response from the housing authority, focusing heavily on untreated mold, water leaks and maintenance failures.

Tenants described leaking ceilings, holes in walls and floors, plumbing issues and repeated failed inspections due to unresolved work orders.

One resident said multiple work orders remain open in her unit and alleged maintenance negligence caused her apartment to fail inspection.

"There [have] been grievances that I have put in that I have been rejected from the housing board," she said. "The overall treatment has been poor and unfair."

Several residents said maintenance failed to complete repairs, entered units smelling of marijuana or ignored long-standing hazards.

RELATED: Hopewell City Council approves ordinance to better enforce clean-ups from property owners

A Ward 6 resident, who did not name himself, raised issues he said he first brought to the city council in May 2025. He previously fell and broke his leg and hand, leaving him with disabilities.

He also reported discovering mold in his apartment building in 2019, and according to him, maintenance crews with the Hopewell housing authority have looked at the issues multiple times but never removed the mold.

"Some of my friends died in apartments that had mold and I ain't saying [no one] is doing their job, but they need to do more than what they do because people [are] getting sick off that stuff," he said.

"People really do need to do something about that," he said. "People got a right to live like they don't have no rights."

Another resident, who lives in Thomas Rolfe Court, said her apartment has multiple code violations and that she has taken legal action to hire a lawyer. She became emotional as she addressed council members.

The tenant alleged Wilson and the property manager are "constantly in meetings," saying she's "never seen people in this many meetings."

"I'm constantly trying to do this the right way -- nobody cares," she said. "My foot is literally going through my bathroom floor, with my grandson in the home. My bathtub water is going downstairs through the light fixture in the kitchen. If no one wants to help us, then just be done with [us]."

RELATED: Hopewell welcomes Lovena Rapole as new councilor

City council members, Wilson respond

Wilson said that HUD requires the HRHA to provide all of the documentation of how the $5 million funding is spent, all the procurement documents, budget planning and purchase orders.

The housing authority is currently in the assessment testing phase, and the HRHA must alert the board as it completes each phase.

"Anytime we're made aware of an issue that's suspected mold, because we're not mold experts, at any time we're made aware of that, we take the very next necessary steps," Wilson said. "We do inspections, we do remediation, we do relocation if we have and then we come back in and we retest that."

According to Wilson, the HRHA is increasing its sitewide effort to use the funding and address the issues raised by tenants. She said there is a contract in place to address all units experiencing said mold issues, though that contract is currently being reviewed by an attorney.

"So, if someone makes us aware of a unit today, we're going to go ahead and address that unit now while we're still working on the contract for the larger project," Wilson said.

Testing and assessment could be completed within the next 60 to 90 days, Wilson told council members; however, one council member said it wasn't soon enough.

"But $5 million is a lot of money," said Rita Joyner, Hopewell vice mayor and Ward 1 councilor.

Security cameras nonoperational for months: What city officials have to say

Hopewell officials said these mold and inspection issues also tie into safety issues, with council members voicing concerns about security cameras being nonoperational since August 2025.

Twenty-one of the authority's 36 security cameras are also currently down. The housing authority said repairs were expected to be completed by Friday, Jan. 30.

A council member said there were four major incidents in Davisville alone, two in Kippax Place, three in Piper Square and one in Thomas Rolfe.

"It's just this lack of urgency and the fact that here we are, the lightning strike occurred months ago, and that should have been addressed right away," Joyner said. "So, here we are, it's January, not done."