County commissioner discovers bed bugs, filth at hotel for transitional families

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A county commissioner said struggling families are living at a west Charlotte motel where there are bed bugs, roaches and filth.

"I've opened refrigerators and seen no food, but this was beyond that,” Mecklenburg County Commissioner at-large Pat Cotham said. “This was beyond that."

Cotham said the conditions where families in transition are living were overwhelming.

"I didn’t like what I saw,” Cotham said. “That's the understatement of the day."

Cotham found out about the 25 families living at the Airport Parkway Inn and Suites on Wilkinson Boulevard.

She said she's been to the motel about six times to help people and each time, she found roaches and bed bugs.

"I saw a woman who was just covered,” Cotham said. “Her body was just covered with it, and when I went home, even just from being there, I had probably 25 bites on me."

Families living there are getting help from the Genesis Project, a nonprofit organization.

One of the organizers said they recently became aware of the issues at the motel.

Since then, they've helped 15 of the families leave, but don't have the money to help another 10 still there.

Cotham said she is still looking into the issue to see if other agencies should step in.

She said there is a gap that needs to be addressed in Mecklenburg County beyond affordable housing for families and individuals who don't qualify.

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