Residents at Shorter College Gardens Apartments in North Little Rock are getting help after weeks of uncertainty following the loss of the property’s Section 8 housing contract.
Tenants say conditions at the complex have been deteriorating for months, with issues including mold, damaged walls, and a lack of hot water. Many residents say the termination of the federal contract only made an already difficult situation worse.
“Some people can’t go stay with their family members,” one tenant said. “Some people have to go right now to take baths and stuff because we don’t have hot water. We shouldn’t have to live in conditions like this.”
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development terminated the apartment complex’s Section 8 contract on November 1. After that decision, residents say they began receiving eviction notices, utility shutoff warnings, and pressure to find new housing at a time when affordable options are limited.
Deron Monts, who lives at Shorter College Gardens, said watching the conditions continue has been frustrating. “It’s ridiculous,” Monts said. “It’s been going on, and I hate to see that happen.”
For many families, the cost of moving made relocation feel impossible. One tenant said help was out of reach until now. “We still haven’t found anywhere because we don’t have the money to move,” the tenant said. “But now that Leumas is helping us, we’ve got the help that we need.”
Just days before utilities are scheduled to be shut off, a federal relocation contractor, Leumas, has stepped in to assist tenants with moving out of the complex. The company is working to place residents in temporary housing while helping them find permanent homes.
While the assistance brings relief, residents say the timing is especially difficult with Christmas approaching. “It’s going to be hard,” one tenant said. “I’m not going to be able to get my nieces and nephews anything for Christmas, my mother. It affects all of us, not just me. This is a hard time to be moving during the holidays when we don’t have the money like that.”
Leumas is the latest organization to become involved as concerns over the property grow. The City of North Little Rock is preparing to condemn the complex, and the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has opened an investigation into the property’s owners.
Leumas plans to move tenants into temporary housing before December 29 while continuing to help families secure permanent housing solutions.
Previous coverage here.
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