Disgruntled tenants and Louisville Metro Housing Authority officials met Wednesday to discuss concerns and solutions to safety and security issues plaguing Dosker Manor Apartments. Dosker Manor has seen a spike in crime, with two murders occurring in the past three months. The LMHA Safety and Security Committee invited Dosker Manor residents, LMPD representatives and Mayor Craig Greenberg's chief of staff, David Kaplan, to Wednesday's meeting. Scott Ball owns BWH Security. This provides security for some of his LMHA facilities and other city public housing facilities. “Security at Doskar is set up to fail,” Ball said during the meeting, explaining that the dilapidated building setup makes it nearly impossible to control access to the site. did. This has led to regular break-ins and sometimes forced occupation of apartments by drug dealers. Elizabeth Strojan was appointed LMHA Executive Director just eight days ago. She attended the meeting and took notes on what each person said. “I will take this feedback back and discuss it with my team to figure out what we need to do immediately to set up security for success and set our residents up for success,” Strojan said. Despite being invited to participate in the discussion, several residents were cut short and most speaking time was given to police officers, LMHA staff and leadership. “I think that relationship has been established, but it hasn't been established yet,” and it's the residents who are at risk, said Chanel Helm of Louisville Black Lives Matter. Helm said he has been helping tenants organize to improve conditions at the apartment complex, but when it comes to safety and security, staff has not yet considered the entire issue. “Safety means feeling okay and feeling safe. And you don't feel safe when your toilet floods. You don't feel safe when bed bugs come from someone else's apartment.” “If the stove isn't working, you don't feel safe.'' “And you don't have anything to eat. And I think those are basic things that people want and are ignored.'' '' Helm said. Mr. Helm believes that ignoring these issues and the systemic problems that allowed them to occur in the first place is standing in the way of real change in his manner. “When we keep talking about violence and how it affects us and what happens to us, we end up in a place where we are always in fear and where violence is just around us. “It will be,” Helm said. Helm acknowledged it was just a step toward addressing the problem. Strojan has already visited Dosker Manor and acknowledged the poor condition of the property, and he said he plans to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the entire property, from the basement to the roof. “That will tell us our options going forward, what we need to prioritize and what needs to happen to the property to get it back into good repair for the people who live there.” said Strojan. It won't be an overnight solution, but we are committed to starting to address the most pressing needs. “These problems have been decades in the making. We don't have decades to solve these problems. So what needs to be done most urgently and what we have We have to identify what we can do with the resources. Resources that we don't have, we have to get them and find a way to make that happen,” Strojan said. The federal government will provide 88% of the funding, with the rest coming from tenant rents and philanthropic funds, Strojan said. She said Metro Government would likely have to step in to fill some of the funding gap. “We need to go back to that process and that conversation with Congress and let them know where our gaps are and how we can work together. So I'm going to come to Congress and ask for funding,” Strojan said. he said. Mr Helm pledged to continue working with LMHA staff to find solutions, but said it may be time for a further review of the staff, adding: “Some people who have lived here long enough “It's time to claim my pension and it's time to leave.” “The majority of people who live in LMHA are Black seniors and mothers. We don't see those people in these positions and jobs,” Helm said. Strojan said she intends to continue this dialogue with tenants, and she plans to host town halls so all tenants have an opportunity to have their voices heard. Ta. No date has been decided at this time.
Disgruntled tenants and Louisville Metro Housing Authority officials met Wednesday to discuss concerns and solutions to safety and security issues plaguing Dosker Manor Apartments.
Dosker Manor has seen a spike in crime, including two murders in the past three months.
The LMHA Safety and Security Committee invited Dosker Manor residents, LMPD representatives and Mayor Craig Greenberg's chief of staff, David Kaplan, to Wednesday's meeting.
Scott Ball owns BWH Security. This provides security for some of his LMHA facilities and other city public housing facilities.
“Security at Dosker is prepared for failure,” Ball said during the meeting.
He explained that the dilapidated building setup makes it almost impossible to control access to the site. This led to frequent break-ins, and sometimes drug dealers would forcefully occupy apartments.
Elizabeth Strojan took over as LMHA's executive director just eight days ago. She attended the meeting and took notes on what each person said.
“I will take this feedback back and discuss it with my team to figure out what we need to do immediately to set up security for success and set our residents up for success,” Strojan said.
Despite being invited to participate in the discussion, several residents had their schedules cut short and the majority of speaking time was given to police officers and LMHA staff and leaders.
“I think the relationship is established, but it's not yet established and what's at stake is the relationship with the residents,” said Chanel Helm of Black Lives Matter Louisville.
Helm said he has been helping tenants organize to improve conditions at the apartment complex, but when it comes to safety and security, staff has not yet considered the entire issue.
“Safety means feeling okay and feeling safe. And you don't feel safe when your toilet floods. You don't feel safe when bed bugs come from someone else's apartment.” “If the stove isn't working, you don't feel safe.'' “And you don't have anything to eat. And I think those are basic things that people want and are ignored.'' '' Helm said.
Helm believes ignoring these issues and the systemic problems that allowed them to occur in the first place is standing in the way of real change at Dosker Manor.
“If we keep talking about violence and how it affects us and what happens to us, we will always be afraid and remain in a realm where violence is just around us.” Helm said.
Helm acknowledged that this is just one step in addressing the problem, but an important one.
Strojan has already visited Dosker Manor and acknowledged the poor condition of the property, and said he plans to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the entire property, from the basement to the roof.
“That will tell us our options going forward, what we need to prioritize and what needs to happen to the property to get it back into good repair for the people who live there.” said Strojan.
Strojan said the problem won't be solved overnight, but promised to begin addressing immediate needs.
“These problems have been decades in the making. We don't have decades to solve these problems. So what needs to be done most urgently and what we have We have to identify what we can do with the resources. Resources that we don't have, we have to get them and find a way to make that happen,” Strojan said.
The federal government will provide 88% of the funding, with the rest coming from tenant rents and philanthropic funds, Strojan said. She said Metro Government would likely have to step in to fill some of the funding gap.
“We need to go back to that process and that conversation with Congress and let them know where our gaps are and how we can work together. So I'm going to come to Congress and ask for funding,” Strojan said. he said.
While Helm is committed to continuing to work with LMHA staff to find solutions, she says it may be time for a further review of the staff.
“Some people have lived here long enough. It's time to claim their pension, it's time to leave. The majority of people living in LMHA are black seniors and mothers. We don’t see people like that in these types of positions and jobs,” Helm said.
Strojan said he intends to continue this dialogue with tenants and plans to host a town hall to ensure all tenants have the opportunity to have their voices heard. No date has been decided at this time.
