NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Rising rents are forcing many seniors to move out of the area.
In 2022, seniors in Madison were forced to relocate after their complex was bought by a developer. Norma Upshaw had to move to Smyrna because she couldn't find anything in Nashville in her budget or on her timeline.
"Getting uprooted is hard," Norma Upshaw said in March of 2022.
This summer, her family's non-profit was awarded $3 million to build affordable senior housing units in North Nashville. Her family formed A.W.A.K.E. Nashville after their difficult experience searching for a home for the 79-year-old grandmother.
In an effort to keep seniors in Nashville, A.W.A.K.E. applied for some of the $8 million dollars set aside this year for seniors in Metro's housing trust fund.
In addition to their $3 million, A.W.A.K.E. also received donated Metro land that's on the 2900 block of Brick Church Pike.
"We knew we had to fight to not allow this to happen again to another community," Danielle Cotton, Norma Upshaw's granddaughter, said.
Earlier this month, Upshaw and her family joined Governor Bill Lee when he signed the "Norma Jean Upshaw Act" into law. It requires landlords give tenants over 62 years old at least a 60-day notice that they have to find new homes.
In Nashville, most people are paying than $2,200 a month to rent a place.
