KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former Cloverleaf tenants who have been living in hotels for over two months, after being forced to evacuate their dangerous living conditions, now face another housing crisis.
Dozens of families were given sudden notice Thursday they must vacate their hotel rooms by 11 a.m. Friday.
Many of those people have nowhere to go.
In February, residents of the Cloverleaf apartments in south Kansas City were given 48 hours to move out of their Section 8 housing because of dangerous living conditions and an absent property manager.
Those factors led to the complex's shutdown by the Kansas City, Missouri, Fire Department.
For more than two months, these tenants have been living in hotels paid for by the federal government while the tenants searched for permanent housing.
But on Thursday, they received sudden notice that assistance would end Friday morning.
Of the 75 families who needed Housing and Urban Development assistance, KSHB 41 News reporter Megan Abundis has spoken with just one family who received a housing voucher from the government.
Abundis has been covering the story of the tenants and their battles for months.
"I asked the lady with tears in my eyes, 'where's me and my son supposed to go?"' She said, "I don't know," said Rayelyen Perkins.
Perkins was not alone with questions that officials couldn't answer.
"I've seen a lot of women cry today, a lot of women, they don't know where to go," said Patrice Jones. "Some are going to sleep in their car, some have to stop school today due to the fact they have nowhere to go and no relocation. So we're just left without nothing."
Perkins told KSHB 41 reporter Megan Abudis the tenants were told we'd be helped until June, the middle of June.
Jones said it's May 1st, her son goes to school and now he can't even finish school.
"We are currently looking for a homeless shelter to go to, and you know the bad part about it everybody booked up," Perkins said.
Many tenants cite those who haven’t received a voucher yet have been working to clear up criminal and non-criminal warrants.
Perkins and Jones said they and other Cloverleaf tenants who are trying to get vouchers and assistance from the federal government for housing as they continue to work to clear up warrants to follow HUD's rules.
Jones said she was told she and her kids would be able to continue living in the hotel through June.
“I did that, I cleared it up, I even had my judge move my court date from June all the way up to May," she said. "I begged her to do it so i can stay in the program and have somewhere to go. So she did that for me and now I’m still kicked out,” Jones said.
Many told KSHB’s Abundis they’ve been going through the lengthy and expensive process.
KSHB 41 News has reached out to HUD and the City of Kansas City Housing Authority for two months and have not received responses.
