In a Local 4 News exclusive, new details continue to come to light during the investigation into Maple Ridge apartment complex in Rock Island. 

We first reported on Maple Ridge after tenants complained about unexplained eviction notices posted on their doors. 

During our visit, neighbors of Maple Ridge took us through their units, giving us a closer look at some of the disturbing living conditions. 

Over the weekend, more tenants continued to come forward and tell Local 4 News and Fox 18 News about their situation.

For Ashleigh Axnix, her apartment has become too much to handle. 

“I can’t live here with my kids anymore, it’s unacceptable,” said Axnix.

For her kids, 8-year-old Joseph and 3-year-old Brylee, Maple Ridge is the only home they’ve ever known. 

“It’s not okay to live in these conditions,” said Axnix. “It’s falling apart around us and we have nowhere else to go and they can’t thrive and do what they do as children in these conditions.”

As her home literally crumbles around her, Axnix moved her family into one room of the two-bedroom apartment. The three of them are now cramming into the one room, with a mattress, a TV and a dining room table. Axnix says she’s removed most of her belongings and furniture from the unit because of roaches and mold. 

“It’s overwhelming because I shouldn’t have to worry about the conditions of my home all the time, it’s disgusting,” she said. 

Axnix is a stay-at-home mom. Her son has autism and her daughter suffers from cerebral palsy and shaken baby syndrome. With their health concerns being her full-time job, she says the stress of her home has become too much. Medical bills have consumed the family over the years, and they don’t have the money or the option of moving out. 

“If I’m worrying about the house and everything in the house, I can’t worry about her and what needs to be done for her to get better.” 

Mold is building up along the floors and mice and roaches can be heard throughout the apartment.
Axnix says her kids sleep in her room because they’re afraid of their own.

“[Brylee] actually goes up to me and says ‘I wanna go home’ and we’ll be here…it’s like they don’t want to be here, there’s nothing to do. It’s miserable.”

Axnix says they spend little time in the apartment, trying to spend most of the day anywhere but there. But she says winter is a different story, forcing the kids to stay in the apartment because of colder weather.

Now she says they’re out of options, with nowhere else to go and no one answering their concerns. 

Axnix says maintenance has been “very helpful” throughout the eight years she’s lived there, but there are only two maintenance workers that she knows of. She says the amount and extent of the work needed through Maple Ridge is too much for two people. But Axnix says when she turns to management for help, she doesn’t receive it. 

When asked if management has addressed these issues, she said, “Nope. And they know about it.”

Although there are references to “black mold” there is no evidence that says the mold is the “black mold” that can prove to be a serious health hazard or even potentially deadly. However, there is mold with a dark or black-ish color forming throughout Axnix’s home, possibly from reoccurring water damage. 

Now what should be a safe place to call home, has become the last place this family wants to be. 

“It’s supposed to be our safe haven and instead it’s our problem. That’s a problem, and it shouldn’t be.”

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