Judy (right) shows Shanna Rogers of the Visible Community’s Neighborhood Housing League, bedbug bites on her arm. Rogers is holding a jar of bedbugs found in Smith’s apartment.
In the course of one week, two women called The Center for Wisdom’s Women, nearly in tears, saying that they had found bed bugs on their beds. One of them within a week was finding bugs in other places. What to do?
The Executive Director, Klara Tammany, remembered someone at her church sharing news of the Visible Community’s Neighborhood Housing League. Tammany called The Visible Community office and that very day, Shanna Rogers, Resident Coordinator for NHL, returned the call. By the end of the week, a class was scheduled at the center about how to prevent, diagnose and treat for bed bugs, and while at it, roaches. Within the week Rogers also met personally with both women who had called looking for help.
Through her work, Rogers is helping tenants advocate for their right to safe housing, and she is teaching the parallel responsibilities of tenants to maintain their apartments, all of which will be part of an upcoming “Good Tenant Certification Program.” Rogers will be returning the women’s center weekly on Mondays, starting in September, to consult with tenants and to assist with documentation and self advocacy.