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State investigators raid group home over living conditions
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UPDATE: On Wednesday night, group home owner Chantay Davenport responded, claiming the photos from inside her facility were a violation of her resident's privacy. She told WBRZ that residents are responsible for taking care of themselves and she is not neglecting them.
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BATON ROUGE- A group home that has been operating despite its name being revoked by the Secretary of State for failing to file documents in a timely manner is under the microscope after horrible conditions were exposed by a relative who has a family member there.
Wednesday, investigators from the State Fire Marshal's office paid a visit to the house following a flood of complaints.
Larry Thomas has lived there for several years, and his niece who works in the mental health arena said she's had enough.
"It was brought to my attention from another family member that my uncle didn't look right," Myles said. "Matter of fact, he said he looked like death. When I went to see him he was very fragile."
Myles left with an incredulous look. She saw medicine exposed for anyone to grab, unpainted walls, junk scattered throughout the home, people sleeping on the floor, residents neglected, and not provided with basic necessities.
"The last time I went, I saw this lady and a couple of other people eating with their hands," Myles said. "I asked, 'Why are you guys eating with your hands?' And they said, 'We have no utensils.'"
She said despite the owners taking $1,000 of her uncle's money per month, he's living in awful conditions. About $650 goes to rent and the rest is supposed to go to hygiene and food. Myles said she asked the owner about where the rest of the money was going and she said that the owner didn't have that documentation.
With all of those issues exposed, the WBRZ Investigative Unit went looking for answers Wednesday from the group home's owner, Chantay Davenport.
"I can't tell you anything," a worker said when answering the door. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave the premises. I'm fixing to call the police."
Myles said their lack of wanting to answer questions is enough of an answer for her. Wednesday, Myles took her uncle out of the home.
"I want to see her shut down for good," Myles said. "I don't want to see her shut down this house and move to another house. She needs to be stopped, because she's taking the money of people who don't have a voice and profiting off of it."
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