Nearly 200 families have been displaced in Nashville since the Sixth Circuit Court ruled the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention didn’t have the authority to issue eviction moratoriums.
The ruling left Tennessee residents like Clara Alicea unprotected, despite the new extension.
WPLN’s Ambriehl Crutchfield checked in with Alicea a few weeks ago as she used vacation time to pack up on the day before her eviction. She says she was told to move out after being two weeks late on rent.
“I said I’m willing to pay the fees, which was like $3,000 and change,” she recalls telling her landlord’s lawyer in court. “I had the money right then and there when I went to court to pay it. And they said no, they weren’t taking it.”
Despite a new program to help people experiencing homelessness, the only city resource in place for people currently facing evictions is the Metro Action Commission.
Organizers have called on city officials to do more to protect tenants.