NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — A nonprofit based in East Nashville that helps homeless people who have nowhere else to go is now in need of a new home.
The property that Rychus Rydz Inc. rented is slated to become part of a new mixed-use development at the corner of Dickerson Pike and Gatewood Avenue. According to Wedgewood Avenue Investment Firm's website, the plan is to build six multistory mixed-use buildings near the intersection.
From the outside, 1411 Dickerson Pike does not look like a homeless shelter, but for years it was. A car club occupied the building. Membership fueled a nonprofit for people experiencing homelessness.
"A lot of homeless people walk up and down [this] street. We love what we do and now these people don't know where I'm at," said Shawn'a Hatcher, creator of Rychus Rydz Inc.
Hatcher has been looking for a place to relocate but is struggling to find something in the same zip code.
Now, Rychus Rydz is applying for funding from the city's housing trust fund and asking the public for help to rent or buy a new property.
1411 Dickerson was one of a handful of properties bought in a multi-million dollar deal last year. Right next door, 20 families were kicked out of a mobile home community that was also purchased in the deal.
Hatcher's eviction notice crushed her. She had plans to expand and build tiny homes on the 2-acre property that she rented.
"We had already bought the wood. I still have it in my shed," Hatcher said.
Despite Rychus Rydz being evicted, people experiencing homelessness continue to crash at the property or live in the woods across the street.
"It's breaking my heart. They're living in vehicles right now, and they're living on the streets, and a lot of these people depend on me," she said.
For more information about Rychus Rydz visit the organization online.
