PITTSBURGH — Another family who had been living in an apartment without heat for two years now has a new furnace up and running after 11 Investigates shared their story.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>>Local family of 5 without heat since March
When we met Darnella Murray a couple of weeks ago, her oven was being used to heat her Bennett Street home. Now she’s using it to get Christmas dinner ready, something she and her son have been looking forward to.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>>More families without heat reach out to Channel 11 about property management group
Murray’s property manager is Lynd Living. She tells 11 Investigates she has not had a working furnace in two years!
“I’m grateful that you care about people and trying to make sure if you see a situation that’s horrible, that you have compassion to help,” Murray tells 11 Investigates.
After two long, cold winters, Murray and her son and dog are warm in their own home. We asked her what she’s looking forward to the most.
“To just have a home again,” Murray tells 11 Investigates. “Basically, that’s just what it is. To have a home.”
Murray reached out to 11 Investigates after we reported on tenants like Mya Wade, who had been living for months or years without heat in properties managed by Lynd Living.
Wade and Murray have been heating their homes with their own ovens, or dozens of space heaters, creating a dangerous situation with children and pets, and racking up impossible-to-pay electric bills.
“Hundreds and hundreds of dollars monthly,” Murray tells 11 Investigates. “Continuous shutoff notices for five days because you need to pay $500, $600, $700 every single month, for months.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>>11 Investigates reporting is getting action for local families living without heat
After our stories aired, Mya Wade got a new furnace, and Darnella Murray was told she’d been put up in a hotel, but that’s not exactly what happened.
PREVIOUS COVERAGE >>> Local family of 5 left without heat gets furnace after public outcry, Channel 11 investigation
“When I went to sign in, they said the credit card was declined from management,” Murray said. “So, I originally couldn’t check in. So, we had to stay in the cold, again, for another day or two.”
She was finally able to stay in a hotel.
On Thursday, after two years of waiting, 11 Investigates was there when Lawrence Plumbing, Heating and Cooling installed Murray’s brand-new furnace. The HVAC crew said stories like this make them feel great, and it’s why they do what they do.
Murray said she’s over the moon for her young son.
“It’s going to be amazing to just not hear him say, ‘Mom, I’m cold,’” Murray said. “For him to be able to sit in the bathtub and be warm. I’m grateful for you for coming and putting a light to the story that I didn’t have heat for so long and for all the people that never came to help. I’m grateful for the ones who have shown up.”
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