Aberdeen residents voice housing complaints
ABERDEEN, Miss. (WCBI) – From rats to roaches, Destani Spratt said she’s seen it all in her apartment at Aberdeen Housing Authority.
“The rats done ate a hole in my vent to where, I can’t even … the air don’t even come out in my living room,” said Spratt.
The list goes on.
Destani said she’s had problems since she moved in 9 months ago.
One of the first was her refrigerator.
“The seal on my refrigerator has been broke. They came in like four times and kept supergluing the seal and it kept falling right back off, falling right back off. It’s still filled with mold,” Spratt.
She said the refrigerator also leaks, causing her food to spoil.
She said she’s asked the Housing Authority for a new one but said they declined.
The stove is another issue.
“My stove is absolutely disgusting. They told me to take a scrubber and scrub off whatever it is that’s stuck on there, that’s been on there. I asked for a new stove because it can’t get it off,” said Spratt.
Her family constantly battles roaches that come from behind the fridge and stove.
I caught some on camera when her brother pulled the fridge out.
She also believes the mold may have affected her children’s health.
And Destani isn’t alone.
Jalisa Buchanan reported rats in her apartment a month ago.
“They went up in the attic and put poison down the next day. It was smelling like something was dead,” said Jalisa Buchanan, a tenant of Aberdeen Housing Authority.
The poison killed the rat but left a stench along with other issues.
“Flies have taken over. They are huge, huge, huge flies. I have fly traps all around my house and they catch at least 20 flies, 30 flies a day,” said Buchanan.
I spoke with Aberdeen Housing Authority about both ladies’ situations.
They shared that they can’t do anything about dead rats in walls.
They said there are only certain areas they can reach.
“They told me that they would do absolutely nothing about it, they told me they can do nothing about it,” said Buchanan.
The Housing Authority said they have been in contact with the ladies, and that they’ve done all they can on their end by spraying poison and repellant.
They also advise the tenants to use bleach if they deal with mold.
“Why are they working there if they are not there to help us?” asked Buchanan.
“I understand it’s low housing or equal opportunity housing. Y’all don’t go home and live like that. We shouldn’t have to live like that either,” said Spratt.
Both ladies also reached out to the U.S. Housing and Urban Development Department in Jackson about their issue.
They have not gotten any response.
