Displaced: For some at Riverchase, the search for housing remains a major challenge despite offers of help

The last residents of the Riverchase apartment complex in East Nashville have two weeks to move out.

The plan is to demolish the complex and develop a mixed-use development with retail, rental apartments and an outdoor space. The new property owner CREA LLC is paying organizers to help families find new homes, along with $500 to move and knocking out financial barriers that come up.

But the money hasn’t knocked out a major hurdle for many families.

“How is it that the developer is going to make sure everyone has a place when there is not anywhere?” Riverchase resident Virginia Holland asks.

More: Read the full series at wpln.org/displaced.

She’s looking for a four-bedroom rental for her seven-person family. Holland’s kids range from 1 to 16 years old. So ideally, she wants to limit it to two kids per room.

Nashville officials don’t have a full picture of how many four-bedrooms have been created in the last five years, or the price point for such units. So that means it can’t even measure how big of a need there is.

But data from the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency, provided to WPLN News, shows that 96% of the nearly 7,000 units it oversees are three bedrooms or smaller. It offers less than 300 four-, five- or six-bedroom units.

‘Tired of being overwhelmed’

In addition to the lack of availability, Holland could be facing discrimination because she uses a Section 8 housing choice voucher.

With a Section 8 voucher, people earning low incomes spend 30-40% of their adjusted income on housing, taking into account if a renter is paying for childcare, dependents, medical or disability expenses. (30% is the magic affordability number for everyone regardless of how much they earn.) MDHA then pays the landlords the remaining balance.

In exchange, the voucher holder should be able to get a safe and affordable home anywhere in the city. It’s supposed to diversify neighborhoods based on class and race.

But in Nashville, unlike other places throughout the country, city and state law allow landlords to reject potential renters for using Section 8 vouchers — just because of how they’re paying.

“I’m tired of being overwhelmed,” Holland says. “I don’t even know if ‘overwhelmed’ is the word for the situation now. … It’s in moments where I’m almost ready to just give up.”

If she can’t find anything, she would be homeless. She already has a backup plan to couch-surf with friends or stay in a hotel.

In general, landlords turn down Section 8 for three reasons: One, they don’t want to deal with the government’s red tape. Two, they can charge more on the private market.

And three, they stereotype who has a voucher: People assume single Black women like Holland are taking advantage of government resources.

‘About as difficult as having a felony’

But that narrative oversimplifies real life.

For Holland, a housing voucher has helped her afford stable housing. Before Riverchase, a dangerous domestic violence situation landed her family in a homeless shelter while she was pregnant.

And life at Riverchase has had its own problems — like a mice infestation in her apartment, and other unsafe conditions in nearby units.

“I’ve had to deal with that and live like this for too long,” she says. “I don’t want to have to move somewhere else and have to deal with the same thing.”

The combination of having a Section 8 voucher and a large family makes the search especially challenging, says PATHE’s Executive Director Jackie Sims.

“The moms who have several children, that’s very difficult. That’s about as difficult as having a felony,” she says.

The nonprofit has been helping families find new homes after being displaced from Riverchase. When most landlords hear a potential renter has kids, Sims says, they picture noise and lots of wear and tear on their apartments.

“She won’t be an easy move, but she’s not an impossible move. I’ve already moved several people with six children,” Sims says.

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Less than 30 families are still at Riverchase. The owner has delayed the move out deadline several times already.

While Holland wants everyone to have a home, she knows there’s limited housing, and she worries those other families have taken her options.

“So I really feel like I’m still doing this on my own,” Holland says.

Not everyone is discriminated against based on family structure: Researchers published in a journal called Housing Policy Debate recently found that being a single mother is only seen as a negative thing for Black women and Latinas. It’s not held against white women, the researchers found.

Life in a new neighborhood

The housing search hasn’t been as intense for people at Riverchase without kids.

Almost two weeks ago, Ronnie VanBuren or Hot Dog, as he’s known — moved into his new apartment in North Nashville.

“This neighborhood right here it’s a blessing,” he says. “It remind me of the neighborhood that I saw when I was a child. “

The triplex he’s moved into is sandwiched between Buchanan and Jefferson Streets. It’s a residential area with wide streets, sidewalks and plenty of trees.

Still, it’s a jarring change. Hot Dog lived at Riverchase for 17 years. He had all his routines down. Right now, he’s having to learn the patterns of his new neighborhood, like who his neighbors are and when the bus runs.

Even with the attempts to make the transition easier, he feels like the Riverchase residents are owed more respect and money than that.

“They ain’t building it for us, they building it for them,” Hot Dog says. “How I feel? That’s damn low down. But there’s this what you call progress. In progress, you got to get rid of certain group of people.”

The complex sits just east of downtown, less than a mile from the future Oracle tech campus and Nissan Stadium. This area is also where the city plans to create a new neighborhood.

Back at Riverchase, Virginia Holland is watching the apartment complex clear out. She’s working hard to find housing that meets the wants and needs for her family.

For now, she’s pressing ahead through her depression and apartment inquiry rejections, knowing she has just a few weeks to find the kind of home she’s been seeking for years.

“A backyard — that’s ideal for me,” she says. “More than one bathroom. Lord knows I need a washer and dryer connection. I just want a roof over my kids. I want somebody to say, ‘Yes, yes, we have a place for you.’ “