MILWAUKEE— After years of complaints from residents about rats, roaches and bed bug infestations in properties owned by the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee, a local organization is stepping in to help.
Common Ground, a nonpartisan group designed to help solve problems in the community, is pulling residents together to demand change.
The group said after hearing complaints for more than a year, they are elevating these issues from residents.
The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee offers over 4,000 affordable apartments and homes dedicated to low-income families, seniors and disabled adults in the city of Milwaukee.
The College Court building is just one of the 27 properties the Housing Authority owns. On Tuesday, Spectrum News Wisconsin got the chance to go inside and see some of the conditions residents said they are living in and experiencing.
Nicole Binns said she’s lived in the College Court building for over five years. She said those five years have been a challenge for her and many others who live there.
“It’s getting worse,” Binns said. “It’s not getting better.”
Some of the issues she is facing are evident when looking around her apartment — she barely has any furniture to sit on.
She claimed it is because of the consistent bed bug infestations, roaches and rats she said are inside the building.
“I had to get rid of all of my furniture. My first set of furniture that my sister bought me, I had to get rid of it, all of it,” Binns said.
Binns said her bathroom sink and toilet don’t always work, which she said forces her to use her neighbors’ bathrooms. Binns said she has reported these issues, but nothing has been taken care of.
“It’s unbelievable,” Binns said. “It’s unbelievable to live like this."
Binns is not the only one in the building with complaints. Debra McQueen claimed she is living with mold, bedbugs, asbestos and crumbling walls.
She has no furniture in her bedroom and said she cannot sleep there because it makes her feel sick.
Issues such as the ones Binns and McQueen are facing are why Common Ground said it is getting involved. Since 2020, the group said it’s listened to over 1,400 complaints from residents who live in these properties.
The group is also calling on the housing authority to be audited for overcharging residents for rent.
“This is a widespread and rampant mismanagement,” Common Ground organizer Kevin Solomon said. “All of the times we have tried to bring it to the attention of the leadership, we have just seen consistently they don’t care about residents, and they don’t want to make changes. No one is accountable.”
Spectrum News reached out to the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee for a comment on these issues. The group responded with this statement:
“The Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM) serves over 15,000 residents, and we take any concerns they raise very seriously. HACM strives to keep people housed in safe, high-quality living environments and connect them to opportunities that support self-sufficiency, good quality of life, and other opportunities to help them thrive. We are aware of issues raised by residents, many of which have been resolved, and others that we have been actively working to address with the resources we have available. When other matters are brought to our attention, we will address them as well.
"HACM has a substantial number of monitoring, compliance, evaluation, and enforcement requirements already in place. Our Board of Commissioners, which includes resident representation and local leaders in community development, provides governance. In addition, our funders, who provide critical financial and technical support, provide oversight.
"HACM’s mission has been to provide critical affordable housing to Milwaukeeans for nearly 80 years. Despite significant underfunding for affordable housing and the recent pandemic, we have continued to be resilient in advancing our mission and providing opportunities for our residents to thrive. We will continue to find solutions and work with our many funding and enforcement partners to ensure safe, healthy living environments for our residents. For more detailed information about HACM’s efforts, please visit hacm.org/media."
Meanwhile, residents such as Binns said they are still waiting for action.
“I am trying to be a happy citizen, but I can’t keep living like this,” Binns said.
Common Ground said it plans to bring these issues in front of federal representatives in hopes of changing the lives of the thousands of people living in city housing.