Residents speak out about bed bug infestation

Amarillo, TX - Residents staying at a halfway house in Amarillo said there is a bed bug infestation but they cannot legally leave.

The Amarillo Transitional Treatment Center is a place for parolees and those on probation to stay while they finish treatment for addiction.

One resident said she is thankful for the service but has had enough when it comes to the pesky bugs. "I'm so eaten up with bed bugs that it is not conducive to my health or my safety to stay there," said Nicole Patrick. She left the center this morning and is now violating her parole to get away from the bugs. "I wasn't supposed to leave the halfway house, but I had to make an executive decision for my own health and safety. I informed them where I was going, where I would be and contact numbers so that I wouldn't get in trouble, but I'm pretty sure they're still going to mark me as absconding.

Patrick has bug bites across her face, legs and arms. She said staff at the center have taken some steps to eliminate the bed bugs, but nothing is working. "They sprayed, they've done heat treatments, they have us wipe down our beds and take our mattresses outside and spray them with bleach, wipe our beds with bleach, but every day I'm still waking up with bed bug bites."

Another resident still living at the center said she has been battling the bugs since August. On-site staff declined to comment about a potential bed bug problem and the CEO of the center who lives in Lubbock said he is unaware that there is any issue at all. He said if there was a bed bug infestation, his staff would do all the necessary treatments to fix the problem.

However, Patrick disagrees. "They've known about this problem for quite some time and I feel like the procedure to get rid of them fully, they're not wanting to do and it's like putting a band-aid on a hemorrhage."

Patrick said she is working with her parole officer and hopes they can make a different living arrangement so she won't violate her parole.

Madison Alewel - NewsChannel 10

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Residents speak out about bed bug infestation