Harrisburg Woman Living In Feces Filled Home Reaches Out To WCCB For Help

HARRISBURG, NC — Feces, toilet paper, and maggots cover parts of a home in Cabarrus county. It’s been like that for more than a month.

Jeanine Hughes says she is overwhelmed by the filth as she goes through cancer treatment.

The sights and smells as you walk down to the lower level of Jeanine Hughes’ home is enough to turn the strongest of stomachs.

“Sometimes you’ll see some worms or some maggots on the ground,” said Hughes.

It’s been like this since November 30th when the home’s septic tank gave out.

“The very first time that this happened, I just sat on my bed and I cried. I didn’t know what to do,” explained Hughes.

Not ideal living conditions for a woman battling breast cancer. Hughes was given the option of getting out of her lease or being reimbursed $125 per day for a hotel until the management company gets the septic tank replaced. Not wanting to move out of Harrisburg, Hughes and her two teenagers lived out of hotels through Christmas.

“I just wanted a great Christmas, a great New Year, because I was really grateful for even seeing it. So that’s been the hardest part,” Hughes told WCCB’s Gary Brode.

Hughes’ tenant ledger shows she was reimbursed about $3,700 dollars within the last month. However, the money was credited to her rental account and she is still being charged rent for December and January.

Hughes said she told a Pure Property Management representative she was under the impression the money would be put back in her pocket rather than her rental account.

Pure Property Management’s operations manger tells WCCB that Hugh’s can ask the money be sent to her but he never got that request.

“I know that our team, if they came to me and said she would prefer to have this sent to her by check, I personally can authorize that. But at no time did anyone identify that she had requested that it be sent to her,” explained Terrence Grogan.

Running low on funds, Hughes was forced to move back to a feces filled home just after the holidays.

After we reached out, Cabarrus County deemed the home uninhabitable on Wednesday.

Hughes and her family will now have to go back to a hotel with no end in sight.

“I just wanted it taken care of,” explained Hughes.

Pure Property Management said they are doing everything they can fast track the process of getting the septic tank fixed. They also said Hughes will not be charged for these last two months of rent and if she requests to have the money reimbursed directly to her, she will get it in a matter of days.

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