LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Following the arrest of the man accused of a deadly shooting at Dosker Manor, the Louisville Metro Housing Authority (LMHA) held a Security and Safety Committee meeting Wednesday to address concerns at the housing complex.
"These problems have been decades in the making, and we do not have decades to fix these problems," LMHA Executive Director Elizabeth Strojan said.
Tenants, city leaders and Louisville advocates spoke face-to-face to the people in charge of keeping Dosker Manor safe and expressed their concerns.
"If there are rules and protocols, they can't be followed if I'm hungry, if there's water on my bed. One of our guys can't even come here today because the damn toilet is all over the floor of his apartment that looks like a jail cell," said Chanelle Helm of Black Lives Matter-Louisville, who has long advocated for those living at Dosker Manor. "This is not anything new to LMHA and we need to really say that. Anything else is just being really frivolous.”
Scott Ball is the CEO of BWH Security, the company that provides security guards to Dosker Manor.
"Security at Dosker Manor is set up for failure," he said.
He said major changes need to be made to the building entryways, making them more secure for the people who live in the building.
“Ninety-five percent of the people who live at Dosker are good people who just want to go home, go to work, come back," Ball said. "You’ve got 5% that’s in Dosker that’s a problem and they’re making it bad for everybody."
Strojan just stepped into the executive director role this month.
"My first impression of Dosker Manor was that it's unacceptable, and I will work to change that," Strojan said, saying Dosker Manor needs to undergo a comprehensive assessment. "That's going to tell us what our options are, what we need to prioritize and what needs to happen with that property to bring it back to good repair for the people who live there."
Options, Helm said, need to involve those living in the housing complex.
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"The employees here have to be in rooms with residents, they have to hear the concerns, the residents have to know how these protocols work," Helm said.
Helm said residents have been asking for a town hall, to share their concerns about Dosker Manor freely with city officials.
A new bi-partisan Metro Council resolution is calling for an investigation into the Louisville Metro Housing Authority.
The investigation would include looking at the circumstances of the housing conditions, the leadership and management at the housing authority and identify any shortcomings in training or policy.
Strojan told WHAS11 News on Wednesday if there are any issues, she wants to know about them.
The resolution still must be voted on.
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