Jackson family says raw sewage destroyed their house

By Crystal Tisme

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    JACKSON, Mississippi (WAPT) — A Jackson family is seeking help after sewer damage wrecked their home.

The family said it started April 2, after raw sewage backed up into their home in the 200 block of Smith Robinson Street. Since then, Pamela and Jimmy Kelly have been dealing with the repercussions of the leakage.

The Kellys said the city of Jackson came out and paid them more than $16,000 to tear out everything in the house that was damaged by sewage. The family said they turned in claims for the city to pay them to replace their items, but said they’ve received nothing.

Along with destroying their items, they said the sewage has also impacted their health.

“My son having caught meningitis, had two brain surgeries,” Pamela Kelly said. “My husband was a dialysis patient when this first happened. When I was there, my husband didn’t take dialysis for a whole week because they couldn’t find a chair for him, because he was doing home dialysis and it messed up his equipment boxes.”

The Kelly’s home is just one of several Habitat for Humanity houses destroyed by the raw sewage on that same block.

The city attorney said Monday that if the family meets the criteria under the consent decree, they will receive payment.

Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba, during a news conference Monday, acknowledged the $16,000 paid to the Kellys.

“It is a misrepresentation to say the city has taken a blind eye,” Lumumba said.

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