Several families in a Mt. Juliet apartment complex have not been able to escape the sweltering heat in the last few weeks, saying their air conditioning hasn't been working for months.
“I’m very worried about my children and my health,” Mt. Juliet renter Melanie Johnson said.
Johnson is a single, working mom of three. She pays more than a thousand dollars a months to live at one of the low income apartment complexes in Mt. Juliet. However, getting cool air into their home is proving to be impossible.
“I’m on 97 days without any air conditioning, none at all,” said Johnson. Recent, rising temperatures have her concerned for her family's safety. “Reached temperatures of over 92 degrees inside my apartment,” she explained. On that day one of her youngest suffered two asthma attacks.
After voicing her complaints on social media, a stranger donated a window unit. It has helped but it's also against the complex's policy. For now her family is sleeping together in their living room to try and keep cool while Johnson continues to go back and forth with management.
“I was told the air was working, it was just not at the temperature I desired,” Johnson said.
Off camera several other residents also said their air unit was not working properly and that this is an issue that comes up every single summer.
“I mean I cry myself to sleep at night, juggling what bill you’re going to pay or have to look at, my electric bill that’s over three times what it was and I get nothing from the apartment complex,” said Johnson.
Management was not available to comment on the issue Tuesday evening. The Legal Aid Society can provide free legal assistance for folks like Melanie and they specialize in tenant, landlord issues. You can find out more by visiting https://las.org/.
