Compass Housing Alliance, Karlstrom

To Whom It Concerns: (Compass Housing Alliance, Karlstrom)

Our Christmas holiday was ruined this year simply because of a small problem with the elevator that was exacerbated by the lack of response from those who are managing our apartment building. Not only was almost everyone gone, and no emergency contact has been given to us, the few that we could contact acted like it was none of their concern.

They wouldn't even help by opening the only other way to enter the building, which left us in the cold or trapped in the building to avoid getting left in the cold. Ultimately, some of us developed a network of contact so we could call someone, because the door dialer at the main entrance for the apartments also appears to be out of order.

The biggest issue is that many residents suffer from major health issues that make using the stairs difficult or impossible, also others had no one to contact when they needed someone to open the fire escape door to allow them in. Some took to placing something in that door to allow them to open it, which ultimately lead to us finding homeless people who refused to go to the available shelters in the building.

This defeated the purpose of having a secure entrance and left many of us ready to contact the police, luckily they vanished, possibly up to the roof or other parts of the building. All of this could be avoided if we either had keys to the staircase entrance or a reliable and responsible emergency contact.

However, due to the frequency of the elevator breakdowns these last few years, it is also clear that maintenance has been lacking. Of course this would not prevent future problems, but it would reduce the amount of reliance we have on the managers if it was improved.

Many of us feel these are not unreasonable complaints as we are paying rent, and neglecting the building is unlawful. Considering the amount of state funds the management receives in subsidies, it is stealing from both residents and taxpayers.

So please find a solution to prevent this, as this is also not the first time we have faced this issue. It appeared that they were trying to work on a solution during the last several years, but none has been ever been presented.

Some of the residents are trying to work their way off the system, others are too elderly or physically handicapped. This kind of problem makes any improvement nearly impossible and increases the stress of the disabled to levels that are dangerous to our health.