The Bellingham and Whatcom Housing Authority has an on-going problem with bedbug infestation with which they refuse to deal properly. I live in Lincoln Square on York Street in downtown Bellingham. I have lived in this building quietly for 12 years. Some years ago the building became infested with bedbugs. It took several years for the infestation to reach my apartment. My apartment has been infested for 20 months as of this writing since February, 2017. For the first 4 months of the infestation they sent in an "inspector" twice who did a cursory inspection and proclaimed that there were no bedbugs in my apartment. When I trapped 3 bedbugs in an empty pill bottle in late May, 2017 their "inspector" acknowledged the infestation but refused to spray or take any other action for 3 full months. Only when I threatened to sue the Housing Authority in September, 2017 did they begin periodic spraying which, because they had allowed the infestation to explode for 7 months, was ineffective.
I have developed new health problems and had old ones made more serious because of the bedbug bites. Because I have demanded effective measures to exterminate these pests the Housing Authority has resorted to lies, distortions, bullying, malicious withholding of needed repairs and blaming me, the victim, for the infestation. They have plainly decided that it is cheaper to evict me on trumped up grounds than to take responsibility for the infestation and eliminate it. All tenants have a legal right to appeal adverse actions by the Housing Authority but they have denied me that right repeatedly and then denied that they did so.
At this point they refuse to spray at all or at very long intervals of 4 to 7 weeks, a period that allows the bedbugs to breed new generations, and refuse to make repairs for dangerous mold and a broken ceiling in my bathroom. I now find anywhere from 1 to 3 or more bedbugs crawling on my body during the day because the Housing Authority has allows the infestation to explode out of control. I find multiple bites on my body each morning when I wake.
Public Housing is a boon and a necessity for those if us who are poor, elderly and/or disabled. The Housing Authority has an obligation under law to maintain a safe and healthful environment in its buildings. You could not prove that they are serious about that obligation from the treatment that I have received at their hands.
I strongly suggest that if you or a loved one needs public housing you tread warily before you subject yourself or anyone about whom you sincerely care to the vagaries of the staff of the Bellingham and Whatcom Housing Authority. You will be at grave risk if you are not careful in dealing with this agency. read more
