The Real Problem With Housing

So I live in subsidized housing, I have been in this one apartment for over a decade now. I pay my rent on time every month, I never complain about anything, and I maintained the apartment in perfect working order.

If this was a regular apartment building I would have had no problem getting the repairs done when a neighbor above me flooded the apartments below him. But this is not a regular building, it's subsidized by Seattle Housing Authority.

So how does that change things? It changes a lot of things. For one, housing authorities actually reward building owners of subsidized housing for cutting corners and ignoring resident complaints.

This resulted in the whirlwind of events that have happened recently. First they delayed repairs for 5 months, leaving me with no kitchen and no closet during that time. This means microwave food only, except for the few times I could afford to eat at a restaurant. Around here the restaurants are expensive.

Then when they finally get the repair crew in here, they actually hire some contractor who is unlisted. Their electrician's license is registered at an apartment over in eastern Seattle, http://www.towncontractors.com/shanco-restoration-services-electricians-seattle-wa and no contact information is offered.

So the one hanging the drywall was screwing things in and suddenly the main circuit breaker was tripped. I investigated and said that something shorted out the wiring, and reset the breaker to see because it also effected the lights. Then he went right back to work.

No hesitation, no calling for an electrician, he just went back to work and shorted it out again. This time it damaged my computer and he laughed about that. They rarely spoke English during this whole process, and were obviously joking around about it all.

Ultimately I finally got it through their thick skulls to call the electrician. The next week the electrician showed up and we discovered that the only way it could have been tripped was if the drywall hanger was messing with some wires that were exposed because they powered the oven's vent.

So he was either a complete moron and unqualified or did it on purpose. Neither bodes well for them, or the city in general. For the last 6 months I have been very tolerant of the situation, but now with the housing authority threatening to cut their funding I'm very angry.

Rhodey (my youngest cat) now suffers PTSD because of the cleanup, those high powered fans running and strange people coming into the apartment have scared him almost to death. Every time someone knocks or even walks too close our front door he freaks out, scared.

My health is declining in general, and I find my violent tendencies to be resurfacing. Luckily I am only violent toward humans.

Microsoft donates large amounts of money to Compass, your tax dollars also fund both Compass and SHA, yet they are both taking that money and doing nothing with it. This is the way of things in Seattle, ironically all the drug addicts get a bunch of free resources and housing.

Which leads me to why it's completely backwards here. The drug addicts cannot be arrested by the cops unless they harm people, they can sit on the sidewalks here and do their drugs while harassing people for money.

Compass gives these addicts free laundry and showers, while the working poor, disabled, and elderly are given the finger instead. Every organization in this city endorses and even encourages this kind of behavior.

So what do we do about it? Nothing. Those of us stuck in this situation can do literally nothing, but you can. You can stop electing morons like Trump into office, you can help out your friends, and you can make sure your friends have what they need.

If you can't trust someone, then don't give them your money, don't give them anything. Most of the money you give to strangers is wasted, the way Compass Housing Alliance is wasting everyone's money, the way Seattle Housing Authority is wasting everyone's money, these are not exceptions to the rule.