Living with HIV/AIDS is about the ENTIRE Community, both those Infected as well as Affected because THAT IS WHERE The LIVING takes PLACE. However, given the Stigma, Discrimination & Politicization of this particular disease, many have faced it "On their Own" along with all the other normal concerns of everyday life. The increasing lack of affordable housing in America is forcing some to become part of the homeless population.
Fanfare for The Common Man...
"FREEDOM-is just another word for, NOTHIN' left to LOSE..." Janis Joplin
This story is about my most important endeavor in life. To experience that greatest love of all; to truly love myself, to shed the strangeness I feel at being who I am and to no longer be frightened with myself. This is my attempt to finally get myself home before I die...
"Home is not a place; it is an attitude. It is an attitude which depends on how much we are able to feel at home with ourselves as well as with others. Home is something which happens to a person; homecoming has less to do with geography than it has to do with a sense of personal integrity or inner wholeness.
The most important of all endeavors in life is to come home. The most terrifying of fears is loneliness. It means that one has become a stranger to himself, and consequently, to others. To be lonely is to feel fear, to be forever unsettled, never at rest, in need of more reassurance than life can give.
Someone truly loves us when he brings us home; when he makes us comfortable with ourselves, when he takes from us the strangeness we feel at being who we are. We are loved when we no longer are frightened with ourselves."
Since being a participant in HUD Assisted Housing-Section 8 programs upon being granted full Social Security Disability benefits in 1993 and returning to My Ole Kentucky Home, Bismarck Apartments is the latest location to FAIL as an Acceptable Location to make a "HOME". Since mother always said, 'If you can't say anything nice...'; the one nice thing that I can say about all the places I've tried to make a "HOME" in is that they all have truly been a Life Learning experience. The outcome is that I have now arrived at this point more committed than ever to Low-Income Housing Reform and Revitalization than ever before.
Do you know a (i.e.: A Landlord who doesn't give a damn about the Housing Quality Standards, the behavior of tenants, the maintenance/appearance of the properties or anything else BUT their financial bottom line.)?? Either through personal experience as a tenant or resident of a neighborhood one owns property in, or through word-of-mouth?? CHANCES ARE, YOU DO!! Especially if you or someone you know are on a low, fixed income and qualify for a HUD/Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher. Unfortunately, due to the problems inherent in those programs, bad landlords continue to thrive in the system and prey on its participants; The Majority of which (57% according to the HUD web site) are either Senior Citizens or the Disabled. Having been exposed to such individuals in the past; I have decided to combat this problem and advocate for tenants rights through my web presence and Home Page.
"In the great majority of cases, a landlords decision to not rent through the Section 8 program is nothing more than subtle but effective discrimination against a perceived class of tenants!"
On the other Hand; there are those landlords who do rent through Section 8 and do so with only with their lowest-cst cost and lowest-quality units and indifference to exploiting desperate, vulnerable people for their own gain!!!
This is about subtle, legal and effective discrimination of a perceived class! "We have too many section 8 units in our city" Cut the crap and lets talk about total residential Rental units period. Let's talk about the fact that HUD began phasing out site-based "projects" during the Reagan Administration. Let's talk about the evolution of off-site certificates now known as Housing Choice Vouchers that were designed to enable assisted families to remain in the community where they had made their home. Then lets stop, pause and reflect that the only residential Rental units that require an inspection for Housing Quality Standards are the ones for which the landlord agrees to accept a Housing Choice Voucher. So all residential rental units, although equally available on the Fair Market at that rate and require a business license of the landlord, are not held to equal accountability for Housing Quality Standards. Interesting how there's too many residential Rental units of one kind in the city and you can't wait to publicize your plans to provide more of the other kind. What's the difference... The slumlords on the Fair Market get a break by side-stepping the Housing Quality Standards Inspection. So much for any choice.
"Blessed are the persecuted,
for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven..."
Jesus of Nazareth, Sermon on the Mount
Jesus of Nazareth, Sermon on the Mount
My Rental Dilemma:
Single, Disabled, Elder Male, 57, AIDS Survivor, SSDI of $907.00/mo, relies on public transportation, desires to be within walking distance of laundry, major grocery, etc.. I have Site Based HUD Assisted Housing through DPM Housing whose mis-management of Bismarck Apartments and Retaliatory Eviction attempts have resulted in a settlement that gets me an out of jail pass with only January's Rent due and agreement to be Gone by January 31st. I now have to get into another Site-Project Based Housing through either The HAC or Ky Housing Corp, as well as initiate the Section 8 Application Process. Fortunately; I'm still in the system when I lived at 1043 Russell St... I have reached the end of my Journey with just my Social Security, Medicare and Uncle Sam. I have no need or desire to own any property and will be a renter for as long as I have left.
Selected Items of Note:“Can the Landlord give the tenant new rules and regulations for living in the rental unit after he has moved in?” YES, if the rules aren’t changed in an important way. The rules must be reasonable, applied EQUALLY to ALL tenants, and made to protect the rental unit, the tenant’s well-being, or the welfare of other tenants. The tenant should ask (demand!) for the rules in writing.
From: Michael Connett
Sent: Friday, August 24, 2012 4:14 PM
To: Angie Slover ; DUDley Dave ; W. Taylor Robinson ; Stacie Sutton-KHC ; Melissa Corbett ; Kari LaLonde
Subject: Cease & Desist; re Today's Notices RE: KRS 383.705
Please be advised that I have received today’s “Incident Warning” & “14/30 Day Notice of Lease Violation-Material Non-Compliance with the Lease”
This is to notify YOU that under the provisions of OUR lease agreement, which is dated 05-25-2006, (originally made with Wilson Enterprises) you have breached this agreement as follows:
- FAILURE to maintain the Building in a clean, safe and sanitary condition.
- FAILURE to conduct yourselves and staff to have due regard for the Dignity and Respect of all occupants of this building as well as the other tenants of both the “Bismarck” & “Germantown” HUD contracted Projects.
- CAUSING or permitting to be caused, damage to tenants personal belongings and furnishings, negligently and deliberately.
- OTHER: Fraudulently passing off your
employeeContracted vendor Jason Jameson as a professional, licensed, insured and competent exterminator.
Pursuant to Kentucky Law, YOU are required to correct the breaches above specified within 14 days after the receipt of this e-mail letter, or upon failure to do so, be advised that your actions are prohibited by KRS 383.705. In addition, since the actions are based on my status as a Low-Income renter (that you think you can treat however you like), they are in violation of my Human Rights in both Kentucky and The City of Covington.
As long as you continue to bully me into accepting the demonstrated and incompetent services of said Mr. Jameson as your “Professional Pest Control”, I intend to continue resisting and refusing him access to my apartment! For further assistance in this matter, please contact Staci Sutton or Melissa Corbett at Kentucky Housing Corp or Kari Lalonde at HUD’s Louisville field office. I have been keeping them, as well as Angie Slover, apprised of the bedbug treatment history (1st reported in November of 2009 post your purchase of the Projects from Wilson) as well as your failure to update and maintain the properties in an acceptable manner.
Delivery Made By: E-mail and many other Internet Sites & Applications
Michael W. Connett, Tenant
Bismarck Apartments
315 W 7th Street – Unit #2
Covington, KY 41011
Sunday June 12, 2011
Dudley Properties, LLCWm. T Robinson, OwnerAngie Slover, HUD Properties Manager801 Main StreetCovington, KY 41011Re: Notice of Non-Payment (Delinquent Balance) & Termination of TenancyDear Landlord:I am in receipt of the above noted notices. As I attempted to pay the valid current rent amount due and explain that I was advised by Kentucky Housing Corp. that the delinquent amount you say I owe is not valid and you refused to hear anything I had to say, I have secured trusted legal advice. Please be advised that your actions appear to be retaliatory since it occurred after I made numerous calls and complaints about the manor in which the Bismarck & Germantown properties have been managed since you bought them from Wilson Enterprises in October of 2007.Since that time, you’ve gone through two (2) different HUD property managers; Jennifer Felts –the PM with Wilson that I originally rented my apt from who came with the purchase and Lisa Brown who replaced her after she apparently wouldn’t sit still with the way you wanted to do business. As I understand it; it was your HUD Compliance Officers at Kentucky Housing that insisted you hire Hayes-Gibson and bring in Ms. Slover in order to set things right. It occurred to me then, after reading a news account of the problem; that perhaps KHC was motivated to do so as you had secured a HUD Guarantee to buy the Wilson Properties and now had buyer’s remorse and could even be in danger of foreclosure. Your bookkeeping has been a joke from the start; I have all my statements & receipts from the years you claim that I didn’t pay correct amounts that show all the handwritten advisories on the statements as to what I should pay –which I did. You’re trying to claim that I’ve had bedbugs four (4) times and I cannot keep bringing them in which is the reason for termination. I didn’t get them or bring them in 4 times; rather, due to your cheapness and indifference to your HUD properties, YOU failed to effectively eradicate the problem four (4) times. This termination notice also seems to come as an attempt to pull the wool over KHC’s eyes by making sure this unit is empty, ineligible and unavailable when they come for a major site-wide inspection on June 20th. Please be advised that your actions are prohibited by KRS 383.705. In addition, since the actions are based on my status as a Low-Income renter (that you think you can treat however you like), they are in violation of my Human Rights in both Kentucky and The City of Covington.Please be further advised that if this situation is not remedied within three (3) days from the receipt of this notice that I may initiate legal action and that KRS 383.705(2) provides that I may be entitled to recover an amount of not more than three (3) months periodic rent and a reasonable attorney’s fee. In addition, I may also initiate civil proceedings to recover damages to my Health & Well-being caused by your action and file complaints with both the Covington & Commonwealth’s Human Rights Commissions.Sincerely,Michael W. Connett
Settlement
Our goal in fighting Dudley Properties/DPM Housing, et al Eviction was to secure acceptable Housing(f
ree of Pests), defend against clearly Retalitory actions for reporting them to Covington Code Enforcement, Ky Housing Corp. & HUD and not suffer financially.
It is now apparent that this HIVe has got to GO! Tay & Dave at Dudley made no secret that my lease would definitely not be renewed at the end of it’s current term: April 30, 2013!
It is now apparent that this HIVe has got to GO! Tay & Dave at Dudley made no secret that my lease would definitely not be renewed at the end of it’s current term: April 30, 2013!
I must now vacate by Jan. 31, 2013, Pay January's rent of $123.00 and allow their "Professional Pest Control" Contractor to follow thru on his Treatment Plan. At least that means I won't be moving any pest problems with me!?
Meanwhile; Intelligent, Informed & Empowered tenants are neither Welcome or Tolerated at the Bismarck (Dudley Perties II, LLC) or Germantown (Dudley Properties, Inc) Apartments. It's been suggested that I would qualify for an apartment at Hathaway Court or The Panorama: "Where Seniors Thrive!". Looking at Panorama's website I see just the kind of place I need to be as I continue to get older...
All that's wanted or needed for Christmas is a Place to call HOME!
"On Coming Home"
"Home is not a place; it is an attitude. It is an attitude which depends on how much we are able to feel at home with ourselves as well as with others. H...ome is something which happens to a person; homecoming has less to do with geography than it has to do with a sense of personal integrity or inner wholeness.
The most important of all endeavors in life is to come home. The most terrifying of fears is loneliness. It means that one has become a stranger to himself, and consequently, to others. To be lonely is to feel fear, to be forever unsettled, never at rest, in need of more reassurance than life can give.
Someone truly loves us when he brings us home; when he makes us comfortable with ourselves, when he takes from us the strangeness we feel at being who we are. We are loved when we no longer are frightened with ourselves."
"Dawn Without Darkness" - Anthony Padavano
"Residents of HUD-assisted housing are our partners and partners in their communities. HUD regulations give residents the right to press for improved conditions by organizing independent resident associations. These associations encourage residents to become involved in the decisions that affect their HOMES without HARASSMENT or RETALIATION by property owners or management." -Secretary of HUD.
As a HUD partner, I'm also responsible to assist in their efforts to REMOVE Bad Landlords from the system!
"On Coming Home"
"Home is not a place; it is an attitude. It is an attitude which depends on how much we are able to feel at home with ourselves as well as with others. H...ome is something which happens to a person; homecoming has less to do with geography than it has to do with a sense of personal integrity or inner wholeness.
The most important of all endeavors in life is to come home. The most terrifying of fears is loneliness. It means that one has become a stranger to himself, and consequently, to others. To be lonely is to feel fear, to be forever unsettled, never at rest, in need of more reassurance than life can give.
Someone truly loves us when he brings us home; when he makes us comfortable with ourselves, when he takes from us the strangeness we feel at being who we are. We are loved when we no longer are frightened with ourselves."
"Dawn Without Darkness" - Anthony Padavano
"Residents of HUD-assisted housing are our partners and partners in their communities. HUD regulations give residents the right to press for improved conditions by organizing independent resident associations. These associations encourage residents to become involved in the decisions that affect their HOMES without HARASSMENT or RETALIATION by property owners or management." -Secretary of HUD.
As a HUD partner, I'm also responsible to assist in their efforts to REMOVE Bad Landlords from the system!
Contrary to popular belief, Panarama is NOT a subsidized Project! It was the 1st on my list because it kept me in the same general area as I am now, but also because of the services and amenities it offered to the disabled and aging. The only thing I've ever feared about having AIDS is that when the end does come, I'd have to go thru it alone. I still do and it seems inevitable that it's exactly the way I'm gonna go out...
Got my Duke Bill for December: 12/11/2012 Amount: $374.01
This is not an Even Billing amount! It's this high due to Dudley Properties inability and refusal to correct deficiencies in my 2nd floor/attic. Their solutions have been *putting a... padlock on the attic door so HUD inspectors couldn't get in, *suggesting that since it's not insulated or finished it be dry walled off and lost forever, *covering it with a blanket or quilt. However, the Carson-Hayes HUD Property Management Consultant, Angie Slover; told me that HUD would require the deficiencies to be corrected since it's space we're paying for.
This is not an Even Billing amount! It's this high due to Dudley Properties inability and refusal to correct deficiencies in my 2nd floor/attic. Their solutions have been *putting a... padlock on the attic door so HUD inspectors couldn't get in, *suggesting that since it's not insulated or finished it be dry walled off and lost forever, *covering it with a blanket or quilt. However, the Carson-Hayes HUD Property Management Consultant, Angie Slover; told me that HUD would require the deficiencies to be corrected since it's space we're paying for.
Michael Connett shared a link via SouthBank Tenants Advocacy Project:
"The rental license will need to be renewed every year by 4:30 pm, January 15. There will not be a fee assessed for the license as long as it is submitted by the deadline, annually.
The purpose for the license is to maintain accurate conta...ct information for the owner of each property in order to be able to suspend the right to rent individual units without impacting the owner's "occupational license".
The City will only have the ability to perform an interior inspection if one of the following triggering events occurs:
• broken windows,
• exterior damage to the roof,
• damaged or missing gutters,
• damaged or rotted exterior stairs or porches,
• damaged exterior walls,
• weeds or grass above 10 inches,
• a prohibited trash set out,
• "A TENANT Complaint",
• or a known life safety issue exists."
THIS TENANT has made repeated complaints about DPM Housing to all the proper authorities: HUD, Ky Housing Corp, and The City as is my responsibility according to the Leases & HUD addendum's. The result: An Eviction Notice! Legal AID of the Bluegrass, being familiar with Dudley's shenanigans took the case and we petitioned for a Jury trial. The intent was to provide testimony, evidence and documentation that it was Dudley that first broke the Lease when they purchased the properties from Wilson Enterprises. However, Judge Grothaus was more interested in preventing a Jury Trial and insisted on a settlement. We've come to a settlement that, once again, lets the Dudley Principals escape without any accountability for their fraudulent, abusive and negligent ownership & management of
The purpose for the license is to maintain accurate conta...ct information for the owner of each property in order to be able to suspend the right to rent individual units without impacting the owner's "occupational license".
The City will only have the ability to perform an interior inspection if one of the following triggering events occurs:
• broken windows,
• exterior damage to the roof,
• damaged or missing gutters,
• damaged or rotted exterior stairs or porches,
• damaged exterior walls,
• weeds or grass above 10 inches,
• a prohibited trash set out,
• "A TENANT Complaint",
• or a known life safety issue exists."
THIS TENANT has made repeated complaints about DPM Housing to all the proper authorities: HUD, Ky Housing Corp, and The City as is my responsibility according to the Leases & HUD addendum's. The result: An Eviction Notice! Legal AID of the Bluegrass, being familiar with Dudley's shenanigans took the case and we petitioned for a Jury trial. The intent was to provide testimony, evidence and documentation that it was Dudley that first broke the Lease when they purchased the properties from Wilson Enterprises. However, Judge Grothaus was more interested in preventing a Jury Trial and insisted on a settlement. We've come to a settlement that, once again, lets the Dudley Principals escape without any accountability for their fraudulent, abusive and negligent ownership & management of
HUD assisted Housing...
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