'It's like a miracle happened': Moncton family moves out of unsafe apartment

A Moncton family has found a new home with the community's help after struggling for months to get out of an unsafe apartment with flickering lights, bulging walls and no running water in the bathroom.

Sabrina Eatmon and Joseph Garland moved into their Steadman Street apartment with their four children a year-and-a-half ago and saidthe conditions deteriorated steadily, with their landlord refusing to make any significant repairs.

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After a story about their plight appeared in the news last week, Garland says many people came forward offering help, and it was a woman he works with who found them a new apartment on Derby Street.

"It's like a miracle happened just everybody started reaching out in the community,"he said.

I'm just happy that there will be no other family being brought here to live in these conditions and that it's just done and over with and we're gone.- Sabrina Eatmon

Thirteen parishioners from the First United Baptist Church in Moncton helped the family to move on Monday, after a visit from thefire marshal and bylaw officers, said Garland.

"One of the guys had told us that the building would probably come down really soon and if not, there would be tremendous repairs for [the landlord] to get another tenant in the building," he said.

CBC News contacted theMonctonFire Department for an update on the status of the building, but officials say they won't release any details until they are able to speak with the owner.

'A thousand times better'

The family'snew apartmenthas three bigbedrooms, a large kitchen and living room, and a brand new bathroom.

Eatmon says it is "a thousand times better" than their old home.

Besides learning that so many people in the community care, the couple said the best part of theordeal isknowing that no one else will have to live in thatapartment.

"I'm just happy that there will be no other family being brought here to live in these conditions and that it's just done and over with and we're gone,"Eatmonsaid.

"It's a lot of relief off our chest and it feels great," shesaid."We're happy to go and be safe."

Their children, Drew, 14, Brooke, 13,Emily, 10,and Tyler, nine, also feel safe.

Emily, who is in Grade 5, said her favourite part of the new apartment is the kitchen.

"It's just nicer and there's no problems," she said.

In their old apartment, the family was unable to turn on the bathroom tapsbecause the water would leakinto the light fixtures in the apartment below, and had to use buckets of water to flush the toilet.

Some lights would also flicker and the heating vent in theliving roomceiling keptfalling off.

Affordable housing survey launched

Kayla Breelove Carter, a community development officer in Moncton, said increasing the supply of affordable housing isthe top priority for the city inits social inclusion plan.

Moncton and Dieppe have teamed up to launch a survey of housing supply, needs and demand.

"[Housing]has always been a provincial priority,but as a municipality we really want to play a key role because ... we're hearing stories and we're seeing situations such as this family and there are solutions, there really are."

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Breelove Carter told CBC'sInformation Morning Monctonthe survey will look at the perception of citizens when it comes to the role of the municipality inaffordable housing.

SHS Consultinghas been hired to collect datafrom Statistics Canada, CanadaMortgage and Housing Corporation and through the surveys.

"So we can see ... where is the need so that we can turn around and be a stronger advocate for our community when it comes to the provincial housing strategy and any funding that may be available."

Breelove Carter said all options will be considered as the work continues.

"What is the potential for development of new housing or are there alternatives?Maybe it's supporting the private sector."