LYNN, MASS. (WHDH) – People living at a Lynn, Massachusetts sober home are calling for help. Some tenants say they moved in to improve their lives but the living conditions are making matters worse.
“The first day, they unfolded my bed, and I saw cockroaches running out of the bed,” said a tenant who wanted to stay anonymous.
Cockroaches, bed bugs, torn up floors, and no heat. Tenants say that’s just a glimpse of life inside this sober home in Lynn. The facility called “Steps To Solutions” is meant to provide a supportive, drug-free environment for those recovering from addiction, but, residents say they are trying to survive in a place that’s falling apart.
“Every time I’ve sent pictures of bedbugs of bedbugs bites, I get the same response over and over. We’re going to take care of it,” said the tenant.
People living at the home on N. Common St. say “Steps To Solutions” owner Peter McCarthy has not hired an exterminator, opting instead to manage the infestation himself.
“He claims it’s not his fault, but when people are living in disarray, and you’re taking advantage of how they’re living, surviving and you’re making money off that, it’s profit before humans,” said another anonymous resident.
McCarthy’s tenants say the conditions are unbearable, but they are afraid to be identified, because if they’re evicted, they have nowhere else to go.
“There’s a lot of people living in this home that have mental health conditions that don’t know how to advocate for themselves,” said a resident.
The City of Lynn has sent inspectors to the property and they were appalled by what they found.
“This by far from what we understand is the worst, most deplorable condition with bedbugs and cockroaches,” said Lynn Assistant City Solicitor Jim Lamana. “He was told what he needs to do. This was not a big ask to get a licensed exterminator. He tried to do it himself on the cheap. These tenants should not be…