POMPANO BEACH, Fla. – A Local 10 News investigation into veterans living in a bed bug-infested building zoned for business use only has the city of Pompano Beach taking action.
"I was absolutely almost in tears that one has to live like that," Mayor Lamar Fisher told Local 10 News after watching the report, calling the conditions "deplorable and it's inexcusable."
The veterans who spoke with Local 10 said they were placed there by the Veterans In Need Foundation, which is located on the first floor of 1350 S. Dixie Highway.
Michael Janet and Roger Jones said the organization is not delivering the services it promises when it solicits money from people at rest stops all across South Florida.
"I thought it was something that we obviously need to take care of immediately," Fisher said.
So Fisher is doing something about it.
"They talk about their fear of being homeless, so we're now putting together several agencies here at the city, here at the county and even the veterans organizations to make sure that we can relocate these individuals to much better facilities and give them the comfort that they need to have," Fisher said.
The city contacted the United Way and U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, which dispatched social workers to the location Tuesday afternoon. Those social workers reported that no one at the Veterans In Need Foundation would open the door.
Fisher remains determined to relocate the veterans as soon as possible.
"They think that they have no option, and now we're going to be giving that option to them," he said.
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