HICKORY, N.C. — Residents at six low-income housing apartments in Hickory said they’re supposed to get help with utilities from the federal government. However, they told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty that hasn’t happened.
Faherty went into several units, including one where the power is now off.
The lights were out at a unit at the Keating Point apartments in Hickory, forcing Jaquilyan Hoover and her children to find another place to live. She said she couldn’t afford the hundreds of dollars in power bills and deposit money on her own.
“We’re suffering,” Hoover said. “We are without a home. I have six kids, and I’m without a home. I’m staying here and there as long as I’m welcomed. And now we’re making other people suffer.”
A woman showed Faherty a letter she got from Nu-Dimensions, the management company that oversees 357 units across Hickory.
It read: “In connection with this conversion, ownership is establishing a utility allowance for each unit size in accordance with HUD requirements.”
However, no one Faherty spoke with on Thursday has gotten that help.
“They said that they would send out a card and put a monthly allowance on there,” the mother said. “And they said by the end of September, but obviously, I haven’t gotten anything.”
Nu-Dimensions told Faherty it’s still waiting for the paperwork from HUD. Families said they’ve already paid their utilities since the first of August.
One mother isn’t surprised by the delays. She showed Faherty the hole in the ceiling in her kitchen. Aaliyah Mungro said she has complained about it more than a dozen times.
“It’s already bad enough out here as it is,” she said. “A lot of people can’t pay their power. Housing was supposed to have given us help, given us cards, to help with our power bill, and they haven’t given us anything.”
Faherty reached out to HUD about it, sending them a copy of the letter families got over the summer.
Faherty was waiting for a response on whether it’ll approve the assistance.
Action 9 attorney Jason Stoogenke says if you have a problem with a home HUD subsidizes, start with the landlord.
If that doesn’t work, email answers@hud.gov and type “Rental Complaint” in the subject line. You should also contact a HUD-approved housing counseling agency.
To find one in your area, call 1-800-569-4287 or go to click here. https://answers.hud.gov/housingcounseling/s/. Go to “Select the type of service.” Click “Rental Housing Services.”
Stoogenke said you can also ask your member of Congress to pressure HUD to address the issue. And there may be a nonprofit near you which will pay your bill to keep the power on, for example, in Charlotte: Crisis Assistance.
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