Housing Authority in Freeport going smoke free

People living in Freeport public housing won't be able to smoke in their apartments much longer. All units will be smoke free by June 1st.

The Housing Authority of the City of Freeport (HACF) says it had people fill out surveys about the smoking ban and most agreed with the idea.

"Honestly, I've been a smoker for 25 years and I agree totally with it,"

Katrisha Shultheis lives in HACF's Parkside Apartments Complex. She feels the new smoking ban will promote better health and keep units clean.

"Smoke...I've seen first hand what it can do to the apartments," said Shultheis. "We smoked in our old apartment and our walls were just so bad from smoking inside."

HACF's Larry Williams says limiting second hand smoke was one of the main motivations behind the ban. He says it's also expensive for the housing authority to fix up apartments after smoking tenants leave.

"The smoking actually is absorbed in the walls," said Williams. "You have to wash the walls 3 or 4 times and there's a special coat of paint we would use after we've turned around an apartment with a smoker."

"Now, smokers have to be at least 15 ft away from housing authority property before lighting up. While he's in favor of the smoke free policy, Parkside Apartment resident Kenneth Schultheis sees some problems.

"I really don't agree with going 15 feet away from my own door," he said. "I got six kids to watch. Makes it kind of difficult."

About 285 other housing authorities nationwide have similar policies. To residents like Mike Hoskinson, it's a move in the right direction.

"They're just trying to make the buildings better for everybody," he said. "I think this is a good step to do so."