PHOENIX — Joelean Lewis lived in the same apartment for years, but when they stopped taking Housing Choice Vouchers, she couldn't afford to stay. She found an available unit at the Santa Fe Springs Apartments in Phoenix.
"I'm lucky I found this because I had nowhere else to go," said Lewis.
However, not long after moving in, she realized there was a problem - no hot water. Joelean says she's dealt with the issue for months. Every day, sometimes multiple times a day, she boils a pot of water on her stove and carries it to her bathroom to use to wash or clean. To have a warm shower, she went to a friend or family member's home.
"I feel like I'm outside camping... the resident has a right to have hot water," Lewis said.
She claims she wrote multiple letters to the apartment complex, but nothing was fixed. Lewis reached out to her representative in the Housing Choice Voucher program. An inspector was sent to her apartment. But, Joelean's granddaughter worried things were moving too slowly, so she emailed Let Joe Know.
Despite the letters Joelean wrote to the front office, Cam Properties, the management company, emailed us writing:
"A hot water issue at Santa Fe Springs Apartments was brought to our attention this week. As of today, August 26th, the hot water issue has been resolved."
Joelean says it wasn't resolved. The Let Joe Know team asked the City of Phoenix's Housing Department about Joelean's case. They couldn't talk specifics, citing privacy and confidentiality, but encouraged Phoenix Housing Choice Voucher participants with possible quality standard violations to reach out.
Just days after reaching out, Joelean received an email saying her unit failed two inspections. She received a voucher to move to a new unit — as she wanted.
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