'It's very dangerous': Security Concerns grow at Milwaukee Housing Authority properties

PUBLISHED 2:25 PM ET JUN. 07, 2024

Spectrum News 1

MILWAUKEE — Frustration continues for people who live in public housing buildings managed by the Housing Authority of the City of Milwaukee (HACM).

Residents at multiple buildings told Spectrum News that crime has not gotten better, and they don’t feel safe in their own homes.

Open records requests filed with the Milwaukee Police Department for College Court and Locust Court revealed more than 800 calls between the two locations from January 1, 2023 through March 1, 2024.

What You Need To Know:

Residents at multiple buildings told Spectrum News that crime has not gotten better, and they don’t feel safe in their own homes
Open records requests filed with the Milwaukee Police Department for College Court and Locust Court revealed more than 800 calls between the two locations from January 1, 2023 through March 1, 2024
Housing Authority Secretary-Executive Director Willie Hines would not agree to an on-camera interview
Hines has declined Spectrum News' requests for interviews since April 2023

“We have people sleeping in the hallway, we have prostitutes, we had a murder,” Linda Kilmer said, who has lived at Locust Court for a year and a half. “It’s sad that the government would allow this stuff to go on.”

Police records show a homicide happened at Locust Court last September.

“You have people who live here who are elderly and mentally ill and it’s sad,” Gilmer said. “I have to live here. I feel stuck.”

Gilmer also mentioned ongoing maintenance issues that she said are still unresolved, including bed bugs and cockroaches.

“When I first moved here, I bought furniture and now it’s gone,” she said. “Bed bugs. They still have bed bugs.”

Resident leader Felicia Shoates said at least three residents are still dealing with bed bugs inside their apartments. A woman living at College Court claimed she woke up to a bed bug crawling in her ear last month.

When Spectrum News asked what the Housing Authority is doing to eradicate these problems, spokesperson Amy Hall addressed it in a statement. She said, in part, “HACM is aware of reported pest issues at Locust Court and is actively treating those cases.”

Housing Authority Secretary-Executive Director Willie Hines would not agree to an on-camera interview. He has declined Spectrum News' requests for interviews since April 2023.