by Justin Darden
A ‘Homeless Warming Party’ was held in a parking lot in Shelbyville, Tenn. on June 14 to protest the eviction of a local housing rights advocate, Cara Grimes. The warming party, hosted by the Bedford County Listening Project (BCLP), was put together to show support for Grimes who is facing eviction from her home as a result of her addressing the housing issues that she and other members were dealing with, including poor living conditions and increasing landlord accountability.
Grimes told her story, via Facebook, about how she had a difficult time paying her rent on the home she shared with her boyfriend and her two children. She was given a notice stating that she had until June 7 to pay her rent or risk being evicted from her home.
She said when she went to make her rent payment to Farrar Rental Properties, she was given a notice to appear in court on June 15 after Farrar Rental Properties refused to accept her payment. Grimes said the rental company had targeted her as an act of retaliation for being involved with the BCLP. She said that joining BCLP was a decision she does not regret.
“I love joining them in making my fight with them to make Shelbyville and the tenants have more respect and dignity by winning fair housing,” said Grimes.
According to a press release, Farrar Rental Properties is a local company that owns the majority of rental properties in Shelbyville, including a bond company. The press release also said that throughout its four-year history, the BCLP had supported dozens of renters who have made allegations of neglect and mistreatment by Farrar Rental Properties.
Grimes, in a social media post, said the only thing she was asking for was to have the eviction stopped and for Farrar to accept her payment. Shelbyville City Councilwoman Stephanie Issacs was also in attendance at the warming party and said the city council needed to examine ways to improve the affordable housing issue and find ways to help tenants who could be facing evictions.
“Landlords need to work together with their tenants. Our neighbors deserve to stay in their homes,” said Issacs. “Housing is important. If you don’t have proper housing, how are you supposed to sleep at night? How are you supposed to go to school? How are you supposed to go out into the world and live if your house is unstable.”
As of press time, there was no word on the status of Grimes’s eviction hearing that was held on June 15. According to a press release, the city of Shelbyville was not immune to the affordable housing crisis affecting Tennessee. The rent costs in Shelbyville have increased as the housing market increases and pushes people out of Murfreesboro and Nashville. Shelbyville rents had increased, causing apartments to flip with new owners and management companies expanding into the rural areas of Tennessee.
