From Michael W.
Do to failure of Skidrow Housing Trust to provide notification before disposition as per California law and lack of access by property mangement my personal property left in the unit after voluntarily relocating was improperly handled according to (California Civil Code 1984) which requires written notification before disposition of Personal Property causing to me to loose all of clothes and photos of my deceased mother left in the closet
Hi my name is Michael W I painfully write this email. I had been a resident of the New Genesis Apartments a building owned and operated by Skidrow Housing Trust since October 25, 2017 after being homeless living in a tent. In 2020 I contacted the Housing Authority of The City of Los Angeles requesting a Housing Choice Voucher which was granted instead of the limited Project Based Voucher for the opportunity to move away from often negative image of mental illness found on the streets of downtown even though mental illness is not just only contained to the downtown area of Los Angeles but does exist in other communin ities however it is more prevelent in downtown area because of its proximity to Skidrow. The night I left New Genesis I wasnt able to take all of my belongings with me because of limited space and had to leave the remainder of my things in the unit. The manager told me to just call and make arrangements to pick up rest of my stuff when I was ready however did not provide me with the phone number and I didnt ask for it thinking I could easily look the number up when I was ready to come back for my things. A few days later I arrived at the building with my cart before the office opened so I went to visit with a couple of my former neighbors to kill time until the office opened. After being on the premisis for hour I started looking up the number for the New Genesis online where I found several listing for the New Genesis Apartments but each and every number I called was either the wrong number or the line had been disconnected after making several attempts to get a phone number I contacted the main office for Skidrow Housing Trust at 1317 E 7th St. to get the number which was given to me I called and reached the New Genesis Apartments according to the phone greeting however after following the prompts several times trying to reach a representative I found out all of my calls( meaning all calls are) were automatically being re routed to another Housing Trust property even when the manager was in the office working I discovered this after calling and two seconds later after one of my call went unanswered after reaching the voice mall of another former manager for the new Genesis I received a call back from an unknown number from someone returning my call from caller ID saying I reached the Olympia Hotel. I had great difficulty getting in contact with property manager regarding when I can come pick up my things stating she the was the only one authorized to allow me access to the unit after I asked can the maintenance man open the door for me since she didnt have time to give access .one day when I came get my things saying call first next time is to a different part of the city regarding my remaining things that I was not able take when I moved out however I went to pick them up on a Tuesday about 2 weeks ago around August 17,2021 when I saw the manager of the building turning off the fire alarm when I approached with my cart to collect my things she says " You were to supposed to have called before you came " , I would have told you not to come" I said " How can I call when you never gave me the number and the number I got from the main office forward to the Olympia?" She said
Michael " my number is posted on the office door" becoming frustrated at this point I said " No its not the old managers number is on the door not yours " (referring to the previous manager for the building before she took over)
The manager tells me " I'm not scheduled to work today I only came out to shut off the Fire Alarm Im sick and not feeling well also my Maintenace Man is out today as well I don't have time to help you with your belongings because I'm late for my doctor's appointment to get cleared to return to work from the Coronavirus, "Come back Wednesday which is l and I'll gladly allow you access I assure your things are safe and won't be thrown out" The following day I contacted my case manager Exodus Recovery around 10 am, who is at the building every Wednesday to see clients and asked is the manager in today He says " No she isnt in and there's no one in the office today try calling the manager directly in the morning her number is posted in the window I'll get it for you if you don't already have it" I explained to him" The number posted in the window is not correct because it's for the previous Apartment Manager who has been re assigned to another building". My case manager suggested I follow up with the previous manager for updates on when the manager returns to work because she knows who I am as her former tenant which I did every other day. On Tuesday afternoon (August 24,2021) I contacted the previous manager who informed m e that " the manager that was out sick is no longer with the company (skidrow housing trust) and yesterday (August 23rd) while she was at building the maintenance man cleaned out my unit and threw my remaining stuff (belongings) out in the trash bin. I went to the New Genesis early in the morning following which was August 25,th to see what I could salvage when got there the new assistant manager was in the office so I explained to him that I wanted to confirm if what I was told regarding my things being thrown away was correct he told me didnt know anything about my unit being cleaned out and my things being thrown in trash so I asked if he would call maintenance and ask him about my things which he refused to do instead kept insisting I set up a time to meet with him the following day so he could open the door to the unit so I could get my things it wasnt until I asked him in frustration " Excuse me sir if my unit and my belongings have been cleaned out already how setting up a time for tomorrow going to help me get my things" He then contacted maintence asking about the belongings left in 312 telling me the unit was cleaned out and my things and been thrown in trash and already picked up and hauled away by the garbage truck. upon looking over where the the trash bin is some of my things were still onsite however all the clothes I had in the closet including my photos were picked up the day before. I strongly feel if the proper procedure for handling left over tenant belongings would have been followed I would not have experienced such a tremendous loss and emotional pain and stress after realizing the only clothes I have are two (2) pairs of pants and a (1) tshirt after having a closet full and my photo album containing my childhood memories ,I had with my mother gone
Skid Row Housing Trust is a truly wonderful organization with a vital mission - to end homelessness for good in LA. They are offering a proven solution for a problem that's only getting worse. And when I watch the resident success videos, I know that my support as a donor is making a positive impact.
I was a resident with the Trust for about 10 years. The overall organization went through significant changes during that time. I also was employed with them for nearly 3 years. The work environment was tense. Job security was and is an ongoing concern for most of the employees there, as they have been known to fire people on the spot with little or no cause. As a resident, maintenance concerns were frequently overlooked for months at a time. While they were primarily cosmetic, they affected the quality of life for the residents negatively. For example, the building which I lived in had/has a problem with the tile floors becoming brittle and falling into disrepair. When the tiles are finally replaced, they are not even the same color as the rest of the floor. I am talking about the difference between dark blue and bright orange. I take particular exception with the Executive Director. He is prone to falling victim to the influence of others - lacking the leadership qualities necessary to run an organization of this size. Currently the Trust takes great pride in promoting the wonderful lives they are helping residents create. The reality looks less rosy though. And for the employees, having no job security makes it difficult to exist outside of their jobs. I hate to post this kind of review but after my horrible experiences with them, I feel it only fair to warn others.