The Bed Bug Relief Foundation (BBRF) held a ribbon cutting event earlier today to celebrate their grand opening of helping and educating the community on bed bug infestations.
The organization is calling these infestations a silent epidemic that is rampant here in Northern Nevada. Bed bugs may be the last thing people think of, that is until you or someone you know eventually gets them.
Typically, when people do find themselves sharing a bed with these unwanted guests, it can cost a pretty penny to have them exterminated, which is where this new nonprofit steps in.
Myree Townsend, BBRF executive director, says, "This foundation has been built to help those that cannot afford the financial burden of extermination if they have a bed bug infestation. So, we're coming alongside, gaining money, and donations to help those in our community."
Townsend says that money isn't the only issue when it comes to dealing with pests. The reason why they've been calling bed bugs a silent epidemic is because people don't talk about it, feeling shameful and thinking there's a stigma against it.
She says that the mental and social effects of a bed bug infestation can be debilitating, bringing anxiety, depression, PTSD, and humiliation.
Townsend says, "So you think that why we call it a beg bug is because normally they are house to what is your most intimate place, where you go to rejuvenate and retreat, your bedroom, right? So, you're there for eight hours, so imagine you're being bitten over and over and over again, that emotional trauma, the PTSD that comes from the infestation... These are these avenues that we are wanting to attack, so people, number one you're not dirty, it's okay, it happens, and you don't have to live in the shame and the guilt of it."
The Bed Bug Relief Foundation wants to remind everybody that bed bugs are the best hitchhiking, nondiscriminatory bugs around.
So, if you find yourself dealing with an infestation, have no shame, anybody can get them, and do not hesitate to reach out.Â
