I live in a HUD building that is income based in NC. The old owner let the roof leak for many years. The old and new owner contracts with HUD. We are too poor to move. The building is sick, but many of us have lived here many years. Because building is sick the owner/management company do not want to put any money in improving living conditions for disabled and senior citizens. We can not find out who owns the building.

No one ever answers the phone in Greensboro’s HUD office. You are not allowed to file a bad landlord complaint with HUD’s bad landlord dept because the building has a private owner. We are told that since building has private owner HUD can not make owner do anything. If you call code enforcement they will go out to give code violation but I really do not think that Ambling management company has ever been fined. So many people called code enforcement that Winston Salem made a rule that only the property manager may call code enforcement (like Ambling will invite city to give them a code violation. There are many who are intellectually (can’t read, write or express themselves well) challenged and they ask me to make calls for them. Human Relations can not force the owners to do anything either. I tried filing a consumer complaint with Attorney General’s office. They can’t do anything

It appears that if you are in the extreme income category in Winston Salem and live at Winston Summit you have absolutely no right to a safe and decent place to live per HUD rules. There is no one that is willing to help us. Legal aid hasn’t helped either. The conditions are getting worse, it is affecting everyone’s health. And there is nothing we can do about it because no one cares enough to help us in NC.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to get help. I have called many and the management is out to evict me. I can not wear my c-pap because my nasal passages are swelling shut due to water damaged apartment. Below is bedroom closet in march/april. Black mold, dry wall peeling and water marks. I have drywall rot above window and in bathroom. They did fix closet in a way. No they did not fix the leaky roof that caused water to run down closet. We can not call the city and file complaint anymore. Fair Housing says they can’t make the owner do anything about this. Some days my nose is so closed up that I get very little air into me at night. I feel very sick next day.

I was raised up to speak out when I see people less fortunate being mistreated and to treat everyone the way I want to be treated. I was taught to respect my elders. No one seems to care about their low income senior populations around here. I grew up in Florida.

What can we do to help ourselves? Don’t we have civil rights, Americans with disability rights and HUD protections too? Not in Winston Salem, NC!

I am 59 have sleep apnea with C-pap, COPD, many spinal issues and am high risk for fractures. This is what living in this building does to you. Many have developed sinus/respiratory issues after moving here.

I can’t believe that no one in government is interested in helping us. I don’t have a smart phone to tweet with (I don’t know how anyway) I don’t have any friends on facebook. I am hoping to get some good suggestions. I even tried Disability Rights of western NC. Never heard from them. It feels like many are afraid of WS.

I have written both Obama and Biden in earlier years. Biden did send a referral to regional EPA in Georgia. They called Winston and then I was called. It is always the same…your building has a private owner.

If you live in Winston Summit you appear to be less than human and are not entitled to the safeguards and protections of real human beings. April 25 a 22 year old boy jumped from his 6th story apartment. Business as usual with management. It sure bothered me though. He was only 22.
Deborah