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 forced to live in a situation with bedbugs. The vast majority of these violations have been uncorrected.”
McCarthy, who runs four sober homes in Lynn, paints a very different picture of the conditions at his properties.
“I’ve been working tireless hours to fix that building and then they do this? I don’t think it was fair,” said McCarthy. “If someone brings in a bug or if there’s a mouse, we have a mouse in my house sometimes. It’s a reality. It happens
McCarthy showed us pictures of repairs, including patched up floors and structural repairs to the porch. He did not take us inside the N. Common St. location to see for ourselves.
“That’s why my family has no money because I poured everything out of my pockets into the company and to keep the house safe for the clients,” said McCarthy.
“Do you feel like you’re giving them the best possible living conditions to grow,” asked 7 News Investigator Dave Puglisi
“Absolutely! You’ll see when you go upstairs,” said McCarthy.
7 Investigates did go upstairs at one of his other sober homes. The unit we saw appeared to be clean but we counted 12 beds in a three-bedroom apartment. According to the City, that could be a building code violation.
“I’m trying to put a roof over people’s heads and start their journey,” said McCarthy. “There’s a living proving examples of it right here.”
“These are some of the most vulnerable people in our population that are actively seeking help for addictions,” said Lamana. “It’s pretty clear to the city that Mr. McCarthy is taking advantage of these tenants by giving them substandard living.”
In an effort to force improvements, the City of Lynn called the owner of N. Common St. to court. William Fletcher leases the building to McCarthy. The City threatened to press criminal charges if Fletcher did not fix the most serious problems right away.
“My client was not aware that the conditions were as such,” said Fletcher’s attorney, Lisa J. McGloin. “He was reassured that the condition issues had been remedied. He relied on the tenant’s representation of that and clearly that was a mistake.
Fletcher is currently making repairs.
“He wants things to be well for those people. I think that’s everyone’s top priority at the moment,” said McGloin.
“I just want to see the right thing to be done,” said a N. Common St. Resident.
McCarthy tells 7 Investigates he has had a “falling out” with the landlords of three of his four sober homes and may stop doing business at those locations.
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