"No one should have to live like this": Anger and sorrow after the death of Rochdale estate toddler Awaab Ishak
18.08.2022 - 21:39
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
The death of a two-year-old boy after breathing in damp and mould on a Rochdale housing estate has sent shockwaves through Greater Manchester - more than 18 months after it happened. Heartbreaking details of Awaab Ishak's death in December 2020 have only come to light this summer as they emerged in public at Rochdale Coroners' Court.
The court heard his family battled the problem at their Freehold estate home even before Awaab was born and filed a disrepair claim against the housing association, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH). A post-mortem established a medical link between the conditions Awaab was living in and his death - just days after his second birthday.
This week, a Manchester Evening News investigation revealed that other families on Freehold are living in the same conditions, battling mould and damp year after year - even after the death of a child. Some children have been rushed to hospital as they struggle to breathe.
READ MORE: Make no mistake - for a child to die this way is a stain on Greater Manchester - Awaab Ishak should not be forgotten
In two cases, GPs made efforts to intervene and help families move home, but their efforts were unsuccessful as the families involved were not deemed a priority for another social house. RBH says it was 'saddened' to hear about the issues raised and will send a specialist team to inspect all 376 homes on Freehold, while Rochdale council admitted there are 'no immediate solutions' to the housing shortage which affects its allocation policy.
Manchester Evening News readers have responded with anger and sorrow at the news of little Awaab's death. Commenting on the M.E.N's Facebook page, readers have expressed their shock at the situation being a reality in 2022 -
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