In December of 2017, the first residents of the Dwellings moved into their Tiny Homes.  The Dwellings presents itself as a community unlike any other. On-site case management, access to communal resources, and constant innovation provides residents with skills needed to achieve and maintain success.  The Dwellings describes itself as the third entity under CESC, Inc. and  aids in the overarching mission of offering help and hope by creating solutions that  provide a path to self-sufficiency to those in poverty.   

Their website states that it is a sustainable housing solution for individuals who  are financially, socially, or institutionally disadvantaged. Simply put, they assist  those who do not traditionally meet the requirements for most housing options in Tallahassee. For example, a veteran on a fixed income without the funds to put  down first and last month’s rent, may be eligible to live at The Dwellings and  participate in their program. 

All of the Dwelling residents agree to participate in its programming  when they agree to live in their community.   

The Dwellings also states that it does  understand that eradicating homelessness is not as simple as giving someone a roof  over their head, and they look to ensure the residents continue to grow and maintain  success. The Dwellings state it is able to do this with on-site case management,  access to communal services such as laundry facilities, gathering spaces, a dining  hall and more. The Dwellings look to provide over 130 housing units with a low  carbon footprint, high-tech benefits, and access to resources all in one location. 
 

The Dwellings showcases three models allow residents to move into  a space that fits their budget and space requirements. With approximately 220 sq. ft., this housing option allows for 1 individual to live  comfortably. The space includes: Kitchen, Bathroom, Living Space, and Front  Porch.  “Having a home should not  come with strain – we want each resident to feel comfortable and safe.”
 

The Dwellings lists as “Current Sponsors” the following information: As a non-profit, we are able to keep our focus on what matters: the residents. However, our work is only possible by the support of our donors and sponsors.

We’d like to extend a warm thank you to our current sponsors: 
• Beatitude Foundation 
• Dantin and Associates 
• Floresta 
• Huffman Associates Studio for Architecture 
• Mitsubishi Electric 
• Pennyworth Homes 
• RAM Construction & Development, LLC 
• Alsco 
 

In 2016 Mitsubishi donated several ductless non-ventilating air conditioning units, MUZ Fh06NA.  Mitsubishi had its engineers inspect and assist in the installation at The Dwellings  units.  These units have Rating as high as 33.1 and EER Rating as  high as 19.0. The highest on the market, and as a result, marketed the product, as  the “Most Energy-efficient Ductless Model on Market Provides Significant Heating Capacity in Extreme Cold Climates.” Mitsubishi operates as partners with The  Dwellings. This was publicly announced on December 17, 2017.

Unfortunately, HVAC nomenclature was wrongfully applied as there is no “V” or “ventilation” from this  product. As a result, all that purchased this unit or received this unit as a charity,  such as the Dwellings, were deceived. The explicit  instructions for this product state that “This appliance is not intended for us by  persons (including children) with reduced physical, sensory or mental capabilities,  or lack of experience and knowledge, unless they have been given supervision or  instruction concerning use of the appliance by a person responsible for their safety.”  No supervision or instruction were given and no instructions on required  independent ventilation of units for these ductless non-ventilating air conditioners.  At a later date, official representatives of Mitsubishi explicitly informed residents that this air  conditioning unit does not bring in outside air, and “unless you have a ventilator to  bring in fresh air, you have to get one.” 

Unfortunately, The Dwellings did not inform its fragile tenants or the  public that its units have significant morbidity and injury impacts due to the failure  to provide ventilation to its units, leading to deaths and injuries from “Sick Building  Syndrome” (SBS), “Tight Building Syndrome” from “Indoor Air Pollution” and “Volatile  Organic Compounds” as a result of CO2 poisoning, toxic mold and mildew, acidic  insulation carcinogenic particulate off gassing, and painting, cleaning and  insecticides used in the sealed units.

The residents were not however informed about the risks of high CO2 and  insulation off gassing of VOCs and their dangerous acidic carcinogenic particulates,  toxic mold and mildew, or how to address these risks through open windows,  bathroom fans, and stove fans. In fact, on March 12, 2019, The Dwellings and  Mitsubishi gave the exact wrong guidance, focusing on mildew concerns. They  brought “in indoor air quality experts and manufacturer’s representatives from Mitsubishi, which is the maker of the HVAC system used in our homes. The bottom  line is very clear: . . . 4. Do not leave your windows and doors open for an  extended period of time; . . .” While this guidance may assist with externally sources toxic  mold and mildew, it causes deaths and injuries from SBS CO2 poisoning and  insulation of off gassing of VOCs and their dangerous carcinogenic particulates, and  internally sourced toxic mold and mildew.  

As a result, personal injuries arising from Indoor Air Pollution (“IAP”) were experienced by the residents with increasing frequency and intensity as time passed.

 
First, residents began to notice the overgrowth of mold throughout their tiny homes, especially in the HVAC units that were used for heating and cooling the buildings.  Then, residents began to complain of particular discomforts while in the building,  but which discomforts are alleviated upon leaving the building, and where there is  no discoverable link between the building source and the problems encountered.  Their symptoms of SBS included tiredness, eye strain, fatigue and  drowsiness, headaches, tension, nervousness or irritability, sinus congestion, stuffy  or runny nose, chest tightness or wheezing, dry skin and gastrointestinal ailments. 

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In light of these concerns, several residents began to conduct deeper investigations and engaged in a variety of actions to bring awareness of the problems to individuals, company officers and government officials.

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​In March of 2018 Bryan Handyside and other residents of The Dwellings the build up of humidity in their tiny homes.  He noticed he had mold inside my AC unit that I cleaned I actually said that Dorothy had gotten it so bad I think so around October maybe September, somewhere in that timeframe of for 2018 She has to bet it was under everything in everything in her closet and the bathroom beneath her shoes like every enemy it was like, every color of mold you can see when people say black mold black hole isn't just black it's a bunch of colors, which can't have that level of growth, it was, It was pretty gross. And she takes pictures. Well, CSC instead of really like fixing it, they really complained about her and tried to make her life very difficult didn't want her to have her boyfriend over her grandson was coming over in his getting bloody noses and stuff was horrendous. So they eventually under her like dress they moved her but they made her stay in there for like, I think till 2019. For months, and they didn't clean it, they wouldn't clean any of the units. In fact I was getting on top of that, that they needed to use professional and Harper's purposes coming by, but they weren't really fixing anything and then Michael was in a lawsuit, he's he just broke it was actually was so coated there's a blower wheel inside it's like a, it's like a it's like a, you know what I'm trying that's like a bar, like, I think the name of I can't think of the dimensional state, but it's called a blower wheel and it's like it's basically like a long tube and it spins around and it blows air out from the top of the eight endorheic in that wheel, his wheel had actually covered like a cone you imagine that the suspect it covered in a coat that was about this thick of just straight black holes, and he didn't, he showed it to you when they're cleaning it out was disgusting is Unbeliev and you've seen that stock

mentioning these things, and it's funny because we had a similar situation in our house without and we, there were three of us in the larger unit, and the AC kept on not functioning properly, meaning it wasn't cooling, and in, in Florida, that's like almost horrible, to the point of suffocation, and I must tropical buddy, so when I start complaining that the AC or the coolant. So we, they kept coming over again and again. And, you know, dabbling with this that we would that and it didn't fix that fix the issue and then they decided to clean it and oh my god the amount of good that came out of that unit was very, and even at that point, I did not make that connection, because, you know, I was like man I know I shouldn't have that much dirt in this little EBT house, it's not like anything is blowing through, but that's what it was, it was mold that was just building up over time. And even after they ended out, it still would stop functioning and they would have to come and clean again and again. So, very rapidly. so you said

they weren't cleaning. They weren't sorry they weren't cleaning it properly, but we only hope that at this point my only mode. Later we figure out more about the AC units are bad, but I was encouraging them I think 11 emails just in 2018 incursion fix it I made a video where I because I was helping out with the drawings. I like wearing their shirt, planning, how they can do this faster and better, and keep on top of it and God by going back every four weeks and cleaning it, but at the time I didn't realize how bad the problem was. 

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The people at The Dwellings faced many challenges ranging from social injustice to environmentally toxic homes.  The program agreement wasn't very fair, the administrators of the program had the power to remove residents immediately even though this process is not legal in the state of Florida, without having to go into court.   In one case, the members of a family didn't do anything wrong. The woman just lost her job and her husband had brain damage.  Because they had been put out on the street without any time to obtain housing, Bryan who was then a resident reached out to them to ask if I could like help them.  He tried to get them assistance from Legal Service North Florida but the Government funded agency refused stating that they wouldn't take the cases had conflicts of interests.

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