Fayetteville family of 9 facing homelessness after affordable housing options dry up
A Fayetteville family of nine is facing homelessness after exhausting all their affordable housing options in the area.
Posted — UpdatedJackie and Ronald Dillard and their seven children spent five months cramped together in a motel room with two beds and one bathroom. But they ran out of money, and now, they have until the end of July at the Salvation Army shelter.
The family feels stuck. They have enough money to pay for rent, but they're told their family is too large to get space in the area's public housing neighborhoods.
"They gave me a list of places, but all those people told me that my family size was too big," Jackie Dillard said. "They didn't have anything for my family."
On top of that, the Dillards say the waiting list for Section 8 affordable housing is anywhere between four to five years, Jackie Dillard said.
Jackie Dillard works nights, and her husband Ronald Dillard works during the day. Their youngest child, Mila, is only a year old.
Kerron, 15, the oldest, says he loves to play video games and dreams the family could have a house of their own one day
"A nice, 5-bedroom house with at least two bathrooms so everyone could have their own space," he said.
Shannon Pow, chief financial and operations officer for United Management II, said her businesses has thousands of rental properties available in North and South Carolina. But, the largest — three-bedroom units — have occupancy limits.
Her business is reaching out to the family to see if they can find a creative way to help.
"Maybe go outside the affordable market," she said. "Maybe finding some conventional properties that are not as high as your market rate units."
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