Cascadian Tenants Report Unsafe, Unsanitary Conditions and Fear of Eviction
As well as a lack of accessibility to a building that houses low-income seniors and disabled adults
*The names of the sources have been changed at their request due to fear of retaliation.
When Ann Smith moved into her fifth-story studio apartment in the Cascadian Apartment building in downtown Wenatchee last September her oven didn’t work.
Smith has multiple sclerosis and cannot walk without the assistance of a cane or walker. The Cascadian does not have an ADA-compliant entrance with an assisted door opener or keycard access. So she said she struggled to get in and out of the building during normal business hours, but after six when they lock the doors she can’t leave because she can’t get back in the building.
“My hands don’t work well enough for me to get a key in the lock and turn it,” she said. “I understand it’s for security but I’m pretty much locked in after 6.”
The most comfortable place for her to sit is on a blow-up exercise ball. But the carpet staples poking out of the threadbare carpet in her fifth-floor apartment punctured it and flattened what she said was one of her most prized possessions.
Smith, like many tenants at the Cascadian, is low-income and relies on subsidies and rental assistance to keep a roof over her head.
As the weather got colder, she realized that turning the thermostat up didn’t result in a noticeable increase in temperature in her apartment. Cold air leaking in from the window seals also contributed to low temps in her room, so she started stuffing sheets, blankets and towels into the edges of her windows.
Building manager Paul Moseley and his son Nic Moseley replaced her oven just before Thanksgiving, and she started using that to help heat her apartment.
