MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The City of Memphis has a stake in what happens in apartments like Goodwill Village. Problems at the apartments can lead to crime, blight and overall safety. It’s why city leaders have some specific questions for HUD.
WREG has been highlighting the maintenance and upkeep issues at Goodwill Village for months.
Tuesday the Memphis City Council will question HUD about conditions that led it to pull funding for some apartments and order repairs at others.
City Councilwoman Patrice Robinson, on WREG’s Live at 9 Monday, talked about the push to get answers.
“The project I am working on is to assure people living in low-income multi-family dwellings that are receiving any kind of government assistance that we give them a little more support and monitor them in their homes a lot more closely,” said Robinson.
With several properties set to be remodeled, the city wants to know how many properties HUD has available to relocate residents, how vouchers will be issued and how MHA properties differ from HUD properties.
“In multi-family dwellings we have people with so many issues facing our families, like domestic violence, we have to deal with that as well,” said Robinson.
Robinson also want to see the tools HUD has to enhance conditions and if a 2014 study that led to a Multi-Family Housing Strategy is still viable.
Alexandria Johnson moved out of Goodwill Village in 2014 and said the attention is long overdue.
“They should have gotten involved a long time ago. When I lived over here there was the issue with the mice, the roaches, the gang violence,” said Johnson.
Now she and others hope the push for answers lead to change.
The city also wants to know how HUD plans to communicate with Memphis and other agencies going forward.