Since last July, Deena Stickford said, she has grown progressively sicker. 

Stickford, 58, said that she had to be put on a ventilator for respiratory failure for about a week last summer. She is not on the ventilator anymore, but uses oxygen at night and has caregivers and nurses come to treat and check in on her.

It was after her stint on the ventilator last summer that her friend, Patricia Hamby, began getting sicker and sicker with lung, brain and heart problems, Stickford said.

Hamby, 69, died at CHI St. Vincent hospital on Dec. 30.

Stickford said she strongly believes that the mold in Hamby’s apartment contributed to Hamby’s death.

Now, Stickford continues to worry about her own worsening health, which she believes is exacerbated by mold.  

Stickford lives in the Cedar Gardens apartment complex in North Little Rock, which she said has been plagued by mold, bed bugs, water leaks, violent crime and other serious problems for years. Management still has not completely fixed the problems, Stickford said.

Stickford took this picture of mold on the ceiling of the second floor hallway in Cedar Gardens Credit: Deena Stickford

Residents of Cedar Gardens and the adjoining apartment complex, Hickory View, have called attention to horrible living conditions in both complexes for years at this point, but say their calls for help continue to go virtually unanswered as vulnerable residents, many of whom are elderly and disabled, live around and breathe in mold daily.

The owner and property manager of the complexes say they respond to complaints, and make all necessary repairs. 

“We take all maintenance and environmental concerns seriously and respond in accordance with established housing standards. When conditions are identified, they are evaluated and addressed appropriately,” the owner and property manager said in a statement last July, after a round of inspections.

This disconnect between residents’ complaints and the property managers’ statements leaves unanswered questions. Are apartments at Cedar Gardens and Hickory View unhealthy and unsafe? And if so, what should be done to fix them?

Identifying the problem

Cedar Gardens and Hickory View apartments are federally subsidized housing. The complexes are administered through the federal Rental Assistance Demonstration program, which converts certain Department of Housing and Urban Development properties into privately managed housing. NorthBridge Housing Solutions, which is North Little Rock’s housing authority, owns the land the complexes are on, but the buildings are privately owned by BGC Advantage, which is based in Ruston, Louisiana.

Many elderly and disabled people live in Cedar Gardens and Hickory View because the housing was originally intended for these demographics before management was outsourced to the private BGC Advantage.

Stickford and Hamby allowed reporters into Cedar Gardens last July, where this reporter witnessed mold along the ceiling near the elevators and inside a vent that was also leaking water. As reported last year, mold could be seen on the ceilings of the first floor, the first floor stairwell was filthy and splotches of mold covered a wall in a storage room that had been locked for at least a year, according to residents.

According to a Sept. 24, 2025, mold analysis that Little Rock/North Little Rock-based housing advocacy group Arkansas Community Organizations ordered from a Florida lab and shared with the Arkansas Times, Stickford’s apartment tested positive for four mold colonies. Two of the colonies were Acremonium, with one colony of Cladosporium and one of non-sporulating fungi.

Another mold analysis from the same time performed in Hamby’s apartment identified three total mold colonies in her air vent. One colony was Fusarium, one was non-sporulating fungi and one was Penicillium.

Acremonium is commonly found everywhere outside but only some species are found indoors. To be found indoors, Acremonium requires very wet conditions such as water damage. This mold can cause hay fever, asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, an immune disorder that causes lung inflammation.

Cladosporium is the most common spore type found in the air around the world. Indoors, it is commonly found on wood and wallboard and grows on window sills, textiles and foods. This mold can also lead to hay fever, asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis. It’s a very common and important allergen source both indoors and outdoors.

Non-sporulating fungi are common everywhere and on all surfaces outdoors and indoors, and there are no known potential allergic possibilities.

Fusarium is common on diseased crops and fruits, but when found indoors normally indicates a water problem. It’s not commonly seen growing indoors and can lead to hay fever and asthma.

Penicillium is one of the most commonly found molds around the world, but some species can be indicative of water problems within a building. It can cause hay fever, asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis.

Stickford shared pictures with the Arkansas Times taken last month that show mold along the ceilings of the second floor trash chute room and second floor hallway, one pictured below.

“We’re just getting put on the back burner,” she said.

Mold found in trash chute room on the second floor Credit: Deena Stickford

But the building owners and managers said they took action last year based on residents’ complaints. Cedar Gardens is professionally managed by M & T Property Management in coordination with the North Little Rock Housing Authority. 

Following concerns raised in July 2025, ownership and management conducted a full inspection of all units within the community, as well as common areas, and made a series of repairs.

A leaky HVAC line was fixed, and sheetrock that had gotten wet was replaced. A moisture problem behind an ice machine was fixed, and an unventilated closet was treated, sealed and repainted. 

In Hamby’s apartment, crews repaired a leak behind a bedroom wall and replaced the sheetrock. They also cleaned the HVAC vents. But management did not follow through on treating the apartment for bedbugs.

“Treatment requires specific preparation protocols to be completed within the unit and despite our attempts, the unit was never prepared for the treatments,” according to a report on the work.

“We take all maintenance and environmental concerns seriously and respond in accordance with established housing standards. When conditions are identified, they are evaluated and addressed appropriately,” wrote Carrie Saks, BGC Advantage spokesperson in an email response to the Arkansas Times. “The health and safety of residents remain our highest priority, and we remain committed at Cedar Gardens to continue to monitor the property, respond to service requests, and work collaboratively with the North Little Rock Housing Authority to adhere to compliance with regulatory standards.”

When the Arkansas Times reached out to BGC Advantage to ask if mold might have played a role in Hamby’s death, the company had the following response: 

“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ms. Patricia Hamby. Out of respect for her family, and because official medical findings have not been released, it would be inappropriate to speculate regarding the cause of her passing. We cannot comment on individual medical matters.”

The North Little Rock Police Department said in an email that it has responded to multiple calls for service in the Cedar Gardens area, from requests to speak with a law enforcement officer or to report violent crime. The department said it continues to encourage people to report suspicious or criminal activity.

Taking it to City Hall

Arkansas Community Organizations organizer Isa Sadiiq Ali said that since October 2025, the group has been trying to get North Little Rock’s City Council to pass an emergency renter’s rights ordinance to protect renters from what they say are unfair practices on the behalf of landlords.

North Little Rock City Councilman Nathan Hamilton, who showed up to a Feb. 5 town hall that ACO hosted, told the Arkansas Times when asked about the conditions inside Cedar Gardens that residents’ concerns “are serious and deserve attention.”

Hamilton indicated an openness to supporting renters’ rights reforms, but also said the following:

“From my perspective, there are two parts to this. If existing housing and safety regulations are being violated, enforcement of current law is critical. Separately, I am open to renters’ rights reforms and have reviewed the proposed ordinance. They [ACO] know I am willing to sponsor a version if they want me to do so. 

“That said, I’m one member of the council, and any ordinance would require majority support to pass. I’ve encouraged the group to continue building support among other council members as part of that process. I strongly encourage them to get at least a couple more commitments on the ordinance before I bring it up. I don’t mind losing, but it does make it look bad to go down 7-1, as opposed to 4-3, with one abstaining. I’d like it to be closer than it probably would be right now. 

“I’m not in a position to speak to specific incidents or technical issues like mold, but I do believe both enforcement and policy should be addressed carefully and responsibly.”

Troubles continue

Despite any work done in the apartment complex last summer, Stickford said Hamby’s apartment continued to reek of mold, and that Hamby’s health suffered.

“I was with her, and it was bad,” Stickford said.

Stickford said that issues are not being addressed promptly enough.

“It’s just been crazy around here,” Stickford said. “We’ve been having a hard time keeping our hallways clear of trash. … We’ve had people breaking in our emergency exit doors to where they’re not working properly. They’re [the property owners are] doing stuff, but it’s taking them a long time to do it, and they’re saying that, for some reason, the owners don’t have the funds to pick up the trash and hire more people, and so we’re just kind of lost for words over here. We’ve got a lot of domestic violence going on. … Even though they are trying to address it, it’s not being addressed prompt enough.”

Stickford said that she has been appointed as a sort of unofficial building representative, observing conditions and reporting to outsiders what is happening at Cedar Gardens.

In a letter from 2023 Stickford shared with the Arkansas Times, her doctor wrote that “preventable allergens” such as mold are likely exacerbating Stickford’s severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and requested that Stickford either have the mold in her apartment dealt with or be moved to a different housing situation.

“My current doctor said writing a note is getting nowhere [and] that he wanted a name and number of someone he could speak with about the severity of my condition,” Stickford said. “Remaining here would cause my condition to continue to worsen.”

Stickford said her calls to the building managers go unanswered.

“I think they need to respond to the ones that are really sick and get us out of here, because I don’t want to die — not of mold anyway,” Stickford said.

Sharonna Hollister, another Cedar Gardens resident, said she plans to move out of the apartments when her lease expires this fall. The conditions are just too bad, she said.

“I’ve had mold on top of my refrigerator as thick as a mirror,” Hollister told the Arkansas Times.

Hollister, who said she already had health problems, says the mold is exacerbating those problems.

“I developed a lot of health problems since I’ve been living there,” Hollister said. “There’s no reason for me to be living there and can’t breathe. I wake up vomiting mucus, and I wake up having to blow my nose. I wake up with migraines, so it’s time for me to go.”

She said she has to wash all of her clothes — including out of season clothes — in her closet every two to three weeks to get the smell of mold out of them.

Hollister said that between October 2024 and February 2025, she moved out of her apartment temporarily to stay with a friend because a dead animal behind the walls of her unit bore an unbearable stench. Although she called management for help, she said nothing was ever fixed.

Both Hollister and Stickford said that the building is not secure, and that people who do not live at Cedar Gardens sometimes walk in and sleep in the building in places such as the laundry room, the front lobby and the stairwell. They also said that because building managers control the temperature in all units, apartments are often too hot.

“It’s just horrible, I’m telling you, it’s horrible,” Hollister said. “The [rent for] those apartments are nine something a month. So for nine something a month, I feel like we should be able to use a community room. For nine something every month, we should be able to use the trash chute. For nine something a month, we should be able to use the heat and the air whenever.”

Honoring a friend

Stickford said staff from CHI St. Vincent where Hamby died still reach out to send her pamphlets and brochures, and to make sure she’s doing okay.

“That means a lot to me, because she had no one and I had no one to really go through it with me. It was just me and her,” Stickford said.

Stickford and Arkansas Community Organizations held a balloon release in January to honor Hamby, and that firefighters from the North Little Rock Fire Department participated.

“It was really nice,” Stickford said. “I supplied the balloons, and I had a big picture blown up of her, and we had pizza, and we just had our little thing. It was beautiful. She didn’t have any family, really. We were her family.”

Thanks for Reading!

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