A life­time of over­com­ing cere­bral pal­sy has taught Ar­lene Alexan­der re­silience, but the 56-year-old now fears a re­cur­ring leak in her Hous­ing De­vel­op­ment Cor­po­ra­tion (HDC) apart­ment could one day rob her of the in­de­pen­dence she fought so hard to achieve.

For the past three years, Alexan­der has been wak­ing up to wa­ter seep­ing through her ceil­ing in her ground-floor apart­ment at Ol­era Heights, San Fer­nan­do. The re­cur­ring leak has dam­aged ceil­ing and floor tiles, cup­boards, and ap­pli­ances, while cre­at­ing slip­pery con­di­tions in the kitchen of the home she has oc­cu­pied since 2009.

Born with cere­bral pal­sy, Alexan­der un­der­went mul­ti­ple surg­eries through­out her life to im­prove her mo­bil­i­ty and use of her hands and legs. To­day, she walks with the aid of a walk­er and lives in­de­pen­dent­ly on a dis­abil­i­ty grant.