NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — MDHA plans to open a waiting list at one of their affordable housing properties, but there’s a surge of interest due to expensive rent.
Donesia Richardson plans to apply.
"'Cause now everything’s like super expensive, super full. You gotta jump through 10 million hoops or hurdles, so it’s hard. It’s definitely stressful," Richardson said.
With her daughter, she's been living in hotels.
"It takes strong people to be able to continue to do things like that — not just fully break and want to rip your hair out, or just want to fully give up. It is really a struggle," Richardson said.
During the day, they go to local parks and libraries for internet access.
"It starts to get annoying and a little repetitive. You lose your way a little bit, but every day you’ve got to keep pushing," Richardson said.
She said a social worker helped get her daughter on a waitlist at a local daycare. If that works out, she'll be able to get a job.
"The people who are scraping by, they got to keep scraping by,” Richardson said.
She set an alarm on her phone, so she remembers to get on the wait list at the John Henry Hale Apartments at noon on Wednesday.
"We want a stable household for a child. The holidays are coming up. We want to be able to put up a Christmas tree and decorate just like anybody else," Richardson said.
If there's one thing she's learned, it's that more affordable housing is needed in Nashville.
“Just don’t forget about the little people, and whatever you can do to help them, and what you can do to make some of these options more attainable— would definitely be a help for a lot more people," she said.
According to MDHA, there are income limits. However, in the coming months, they will also open their waitlist for market-rate apartments at the complex.
