March 4, 2003

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President Bush:

SUBJECT: A mice problem that is out of control.

I am writing in concern about the horrifying conditions of my apartment. My name is Veronica Sims. I live on the Forest Ridge property. at 2418 Elvans Road, SE., Apartment #302. I have a ten-year-old daughter with severe asthma. She is on several medications and a nebulizer machine. Her doctors are telling me because my apartment is heavily infested with mice.

It is so bad in my apartment, one night I went into my daughter's room to check on her when she was asleep. There was a mouse on her head and he had urinated in her hair. The urine was running down her face. They crawl up the curtains, on the stove, on the couch and on the dining room table.

DC Housing inspectors have been out here many times. I have called the DC Health Department but they won't come. HUD (Housing and Urban Development) knows the conditions of my apartment. The owners name is Joseph G. Kisha. The apartment complex is Forest Ridge. There has been a cover up about this property for twenty years.

Because we have spoken out on the condition of my apartment we are constantly followed and harassed. Even my seventy-year-old mother which resides in a nursing home. Our phone is always tapped because someone wants to always know who I am talking to on the phone, so he can stay a step ahead. When we find someone to help us, the owner has someone to go to them to tell them not to help us, just to leave it alone. On June 2, 2002, my son was jumped, beaten and robbed. We know it had something to do with this property and the police has never investigated my son's case.

There are a lot of underhanded things being done to my family. Someone high up is trying to make it seem like I am doing something wrong. And we know our lives are in danger, if anything should ever happen to us, it has to do with speaking out about my apartment. We have to fax our letters because our mail is being tampered with also. Someone is trying very hard to keep this mouse problem from being uncovered.

All the federal money that is given to this property, how is it that people are living like this?

Is it too much to ask for a safe and clean home for my child to live in? My child is afraid to sleep in her room because of the mice running around. I have called everybody I can call about this property it's not just me going through this. I have them in all sizes.

The man that owns this property can't have a heart because he knows what we are going through, he has known for a long time. He doesn't care. He has many people covering a lot of things up for him, people in high places. Not even the Health Department will come to my apartment. I have asked the Housing Authorities for an Emergency Housing Certificate to move, but I have been turned down every time. I hold on to the faith that God will bring us through this.

No one should be living like this. Whatever the mice urinated on, it is not any more good. We have had to throw away a lot of food because of this.

I even filed a Human Rights complaint. It came back 'No probable cause', how could that be?

I know Mr. President, what I am going through might seem small compared to all you have on your mind with what's going on around the world, but I am all my little girl has. If I don't fight for her, who will? She can't help herself. She goes through enough with her asthma.

Please help us.

Thank you and God bless you,

Veronica Sims

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Attn: Attached are several documents: A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Office of Fair Housing letter. The DC Department of Regulatory Affairs Administration, Housing Regulation and Enforcement Division Housing Violation notices. Pictures of several mice caught in various mouse traps.

An HTML Presenation with more photos and info is located here.

The original Presenation in Microsoft Office format is located here.

More pictures are located here.

Update: Here it is February 2004. Not a damm thing has changed. It doesn't matter anyway. I'm going to Basic Training in June 2004. So, I'm leaving this fucking rat hole. As for my family, they're making plans to move too.