A family-owned Denver apartment building is at the center of a fierce fight over Colorado’s housing voucher system, after its on-site manager described conditions tied to some voucher tenants as “apocalyptic.”
In a report for CBS Colorado, Chierstin Roth walked viewers through what has been happening inside the White Swan apartments in the Congress Park/Capitol Hill area – and why the manager says the current system is failing both small landlords and the very tenants it is supposed to help.
What Roth found is a messy mix of good intentions, broken communication, and real people stuck in the middle.
Shocking Conditions Inside A Denver Apartment
Roth said the story began when manager Christina Eisenstein invited CBS Colorado cameras into one recently vacated unit.
Inside, Roth described a “shocking scene”: drug paraphernalia, feces, and piles of garbage scattered through the apartment.
Eisenstein told Roth that her mother-in-law owns the White Swan, and she only took over managing the building in September.
Within weeks, she was overwhelmed enough to reach out to the station for help.
“It’s been an apocalyptic situation for my family,” Eisenstein told Roth.
That word – apocalyptic – isn’t one landlords throw around lightly.
It shows how far beyond normal wear and tear she believes this has gone.
How A Voucher Partnership Went Off The Rails
According to Roth’s reporting, the problems she’s describing center on tenants placed at the White Swan by the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP).
Roth explained that a previous property management company had allowed CEDP to place clients in five of the building’s 18 units.
CEDP works with renters using state housing vouchers – people who can’t afford housing because of homelessness, disability, or extremely low income, Roth noted.
On paper, that mission sounds noble.
But Eisenstein told Roth that once those placements started, health and safety concerns followed.
She said she began getting emails from long-term tenants “describing the horrors that they have to endure as paying tenants, as taxpayers, as working citizens of Denver.”
Eisenstein emphasized to Roth that these were real tenant complaints, not something she made up.
“I would bring these actual emails from their email, not something I created, not something I invented in my head,” she said.
Her point is clear: she sees herself not just as a landlord complaining about tough residents, but as someone trying to protect the entire community in the building.
Rules On Paper, Reality In Practice
Roth laid out how the voucher system is supposed to work.
The state’s voucher programs help vulnerable Coloradans afford rent, but participants must meet certain requirements and follow lease rules, including no drug use in the unit.
Eisenstein told Roth she repeatedly raised concerns with CEDP about issues like drug use, which would directly violate the tenants’ voucher contracts.
Instead of quick action, Eisenstein said she felt brushed off.
She told Roth that “the Economic Defense just blew it off and said, ‘Oh, it’s hearsay.’”
That one word – hearsay – is really where this dispute lives.
From Eisenstein’s view, she was bringing real evidence. From the nonprofit’s view, they say they weren’t getting what they needed.
In complex systems like this, that gap between “I did my part” and “you didn’t give us enough” is where trust dies.
CEDP Responds – And Blames Documentation
Roth reported that CEDP is one of 44 organizations that administer voucher programs in Colorado.
The state told CBS Colorado that it pays CEDP an average of $36,000 per month in administrative fees, and expects them to act as a liaison between landlords and tenants and help with conflict resolution.
CEDP declined to sit for an on-camera interview with Roth.
Instead, they sent a written statement.
The nonprofit said that as an administrator of public programs, they “prioritize health and safety,” but they need “timely, verified information” in order to act.
In the statement, CEDP claimed that over the past two months, Eisenstein had “refused to promptly and formally document her allegations,” making it “impossible” for their team to respond.
They added that “programs that serve vulnerable Coloradans only work when everyone engages in good faith.”
That’s a strong accusation – essentially suggesting the landlord wasn’t cooperating properly.
But Eisenstein told Roth that this is simply not true.
Manager Says She Sent Emails, Called, And Installed Cameras
Eisenstein insisted to Roth that she had sent many emails and made phone calls to CEDP.
She said she even invited the nonprofit to the property to review surveillance footage from cameras she installed specifically to document safety issues involving their clients.
“I was hoping for a partnership,” Eisenstein told Roth.
Instead, she said, “what I’ve experienced from their emails is just a denial of what we’re seeing.”
It’s hard to miss the irony.
The state is paying substantial admin fees so groups like CEDP can manage exactly these kinds of conflicts, yet this small family-owned complex ended up publicly begging for help on local TV.
Whether you side more with Eisenstein or with CEDP, Roth’s reporting makes the core problem clear: communication broke down badly, and nobody stepped in early enough to stop the spiral.
Neighbors Say They Feel Unsafe
Roth also spoke with several tenants at the White Swan who asked that their identities be concealed.
All of them, Roth reported, expressed concerns for their safety living next to voucher tenants placed by CEDP.
One tenant told her, “We would have people… knocking and jiggling our door handle. Over the summer, it was really bad.”
They described “a lot of noise issues and complaints,” and said there had been domestic violence, with multiple calls to the police.
Roth’s decision to include those tenant voices matters.
This isn’t just a landlord’s balance sheet problem – it’s a lived safety issue for people who pay full rent and just want a quiet place to sleep at night.
If these reports are accurate, the system isn’t just failing the landlord or the voucher tenants.
It’s failing everyone in that building.
Meth Contamination And Sky-High Cleanup Costs
Beyond the day-to-day behavior problems, Roth reported something even more serious: drug contamination.
Eisenstein shared documents with CBS Colorado showing that multiple units occupied by CEDP clients tested positive for meth during preliminary assessments after tenants moved out.
She told Roth that the cost for testing and remediation is “tens of thousands of dollars per unit.”
Because of the contamination, Eisenstein said, “We have to take the building down to the studs, and then that just takes apartments off the market.”
That’s not just dramatic language – it’s a real economic hit.
Every unit taken offline reduces supply, puts pressure on rent levels for everyone else, and eats into the ability of small landlords to stay afloat.
If we keep asking “Why is housing getting so expensive?” stories like this are part of the answer.
When owners get crushed by cleanup bills tied to high-risk placements, many will simply stop participating in voucher programs – or sell and get out entirely.
Only Two Voucher Units Left – And One Under Eviction
Roth reported that of the five units that had CEDP clients, only two voucher households now remain at the White Swan.
Even that number may drop.
Eisenstein told her that one of those units is under active eviction for suspected drug use, noise violations, and unauthorized guests.
The picture that emerges from Roth’s report is of a building that tried to cooperate with a state-backed voucher program, then got stuck dealing with the worst-case outcomes with very little practical support.
A lot of landlords watching that report will quietly make a mental note: this is why I don’t take vouchers.
That’s the danger here.
If small property owners conclude that participating in state housing programs is a path to financial and legal ruin, they’ll walk away – and vulnerable renters will have even fewer doors open to them.
“We Need True Wraparound Services, Not Just Rent Checks”
When Roth asked what she hoped to get from going public, Eisenstein’s answer was telling.
“My dream for this is for more insight and more thoughtfulness to go into true programs to support the audience that it claims to support,” she said.
“I think that there needs to be a situation with true wraparound services.”
That last phrase may be the most important line in the entire story.
Housing vulnerable people isn’t just about paying their rent.
It’s about mental-health support, addiction treatment, case management, and real accountability when rules are broken.
Roth’s reporting shows what happens when only one piece of that puzzle – the rent check – is funded and enforced, while everything else is left to landlords and neighbors to figure out.
A Warning Shot For Voucher Programs Everywhere
Through Chierstin Roth’s report, the White Swan becomes more than just one small building in Denver.
It’s a warning about what can happen when well-meaning voucher programs collide with weak oversight, slow bureaucracy, and real human dysfunction.
Christina Eisenstein’s “apocalyptic” language may sound extreme, but when you look at the photos, hear the tenants, and consider the meth contamination costs, it’s easier to see why she chose that word.
If Colorado wants its voucher system to succeed, Roth’s story suggests two hard truths.
The state can’t just shift risk onto small landlords and then blame them for “documentation issues” when things go wrong.
And it can’t pretend that rent assistance alone is enough to stabilize people who are battling addiction, trauma, and chronic instability.
Without those wraparound services Eisenstein keeps calling for, voucher programs will keep producing stories like this one – and more owners will decide that letting the state place tenants in their buildings just isn’t worth the risk.
For more info, watch the CBS Colorado report here.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
