February 11, 2015 - A used tire, a discarded mattress, and other trash are strewn on the bed of Cypress Creek in front of the Cypress Gardens apartments in North Memphis. In 2006, Christopher Cavanaugh, of San Diego, bought the Section 8 apartment complex for $650,000. The complex, located at 1205 Springdale St. in the Hyde Park neighborhood, receives federal subsidies every year, including $160,954 last year from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Despite all that funding, tenants are living in poor conditions, and many of the women and children have respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis, which are caused or worsen by mold. Many residents also complain that the management company charges them for repair work.
(Yalonda M. James/The Commercial Appeal)