Landlords' Refusal To Accept Section 8 Hosing Vouchers, Inability To Scrape Up Cash For Moving Costs & Security Deposits Create Major Obstacles For About 100 Poor Families Facing Mass Displacement As Public Housing Complex's Date With Wrecking Ball Nears

In Corpus Christi, Texas, The Texas Tribune reports:

• Jasmine Mosley has been living out of boxes for weeks. The cardboard towers threatening to take over her small living room remind her she is running out of time to find somewhere new to live.
  
  Mosley and her two-year-old son are among 122 families living at D.N. Leathers, a 75-year-old public housing complex, who must leave by the end of October so the complex can be torn down to make way for reconstruction of the city’s Harbor Bridge. The project, spearheaded by the Texas Department of Transportation and the Port of Corpus Christi Authority, is expected to boost the area's economy and make the 1950s-era bridge safer. For the predominantly black and Hispanic residents, it was supposed to also offer an escape from meager living in shoe box-like units in the shadow of refineries.
  
  But after months of waiting for details, many say they're having trouble finding places to go in a city where some landlords are reluctant to accept them, and that the government is offering little practical help with relocation.
  
  Housing vouchers they received in early August seemed to offer the possibility of fresh starts in better living quarters — maybe even places with central air conditioning — but the search for private market rental housing has proved daunting, they say. They've been promised spots in other housing projects if they want, but few do. Only about 25 families have opted to move straight into other public housing complexes.
  
  Many living on fixed incomes can't handle moving costs. Others can't scrape together security deposits. With the move-out deadline looming, many don't know where they’ll be living in a month and a half, or if they'll have much choice in the matter.
  
  “I’m physically here, but emotionally I’m just ready to give up,” said Mosley, who's confronted lengthy waiting lists and landlords who won't take her government voucher. “And I believe I’m not the only one that’s ready to give up because it’s a lot of people that are ready to throw in the towel.”
  
  The deal between the Corpus Christi Housing Authority and the state is already inked — awaiting final approval from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — and the complex is set for demolition later this year. Tenants are supposed to be out by Oct. 31, but can stay through November if they have a new place but can't move in right away.
  
  It’s unclear whether many will be able to find housing in time.
  
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  Landlords in Texas are not required to accept vouchers, and even when residents find potential housing, they must navigate a labyrinth of requirements to get approval from the housing authority, including inspections.
  
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  Lawyers have also raised concerns that the housing authority is telling tenants to move out even though HUD hasn't granted its final approval of the demolition plan. [...] Legal aid lawyers and low income housing advocates have asked HUD to delay the move out and scrutinize the housing authority’s plan. HUD has not responded to their letter, and the agency declined to answer questions about the plan.

For more, see Some Can't Find New Homes as Demolition of Corpus Christi Public Housing Nears.