CBS Atlanta 46CBS Atlanta Gets Action: Improvements made at Bedford Pines

CBS Atlanta Gets Action: Improvements made at Bedford Pines

Improvements are being made at Bedford Pines, the Section 8 HUD housing along Boulevard.

CBS Atlanta News first showed you the filthy conditions in October 2011.

Inside, we found a woman who fills up a bucket of water in order to flush her toilet and rolls up tape to catch roaches.

"The roaches is terrible. The roaches sleep with us, they do," said Shelbra Trimble.

Another woman was without air conditioning and her shower didn't work.

Millions of your tax dollars are paying for people to live there.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has paid more than $39 million in taxpayer dollars for people to live at Bedford Pines in the last five years.

Bedford Pines falls under HUD, and now the federal government is stepping up as a result of our Tough Questions.

HUD responded to our Tough Questions saying they are taking what's going on at Bedford Pines very seriously and they are working with management to make improvements.

When our first story aired, the regional director had never been to Bedford Pines. After our reports, we witnessed workers making repairs.

HUD told CBS Atlanta News as a result of our stories, they learned Wingate Management, who owns and operates Bedford Pines "conducted a unit by unit inspection of all 689 units and corrected all health and life safety issues." They also corrected all of the issues CBS Atlanta News exposed.

In addition, HUD plans to conduct an independent inspection of Bedford Pines over the next six months to "ensure that all of the units are in decent, safe and sanitary condition and in good repair for Bedford pines tenants." They went on to say, "we thank you for bringing this to our attention and appreciate your efforts."

Atlanta city councilman Kwanza Hall also took notice. Over the next few weeks and months Hall said there will be more positive changes coming to Boulevard and Bedford Pines as part of the "Year of Boulevard" initiative spearheaded by him.

That includes a mini-police precinct at nearby Atlanta Medical Center as well as an arresting and booking center inside Bedford Pines.

"We're going to hold one another accountable and work as a team to make it better," said Hall.

CBS Atlanta News will be there every step of the way for all of the changes to come.

If you have a complaint about HUD housing, click here.

You can also call 1-800-955-2232.

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