Residents of Dilapidated Meyers Street Apartments Temporarily Rehoused After Fire

The public struggle over what to do with a substandard housing complex near Fair Park came to a head July 18 as the complex referred to as Reed Manor went up in flames. 

When the fire broke out late that night, a resident at the development on Meyers Street contacted Dallas attorney Mark Melton, who, with his wife Lauren, has been fighting unlawful evictions and seeking solutions with city leadership to address minimum property standards and rehouse the homeless. 

Four of the 16 units were destroyed in the blaze, but no injuries were reported. Fire department officials say the cause is undetermined. 

Lauren Melton, who serves as CEO of the Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center, and Mark Melton arrived on the scene in the wee hours of July 19 to help the residents who had just lost their homes. 

An operator with the American Red Cross told the Meltons she could provide cash cards for hotel rooms if the tenants could show proof of residency.

“I tried explaining that these folks didn’t have ID or leases or utility bills; they just made sure to have a money order on the third of each month and they were historically permitted to reside there,” Melton wrote in a social media post July 19. “There was nothing she could do under these circumstances. People without ID cannot be helped. I’m not sure if I actually heard her voice shake with regret as she informed me that no help would be coming or if I just projected that onto the conversation as I realized that there was nothing I could do and no one I knew to call to intervene.”

Trouble Brewing

The situation at Meyers Street didn’t happen overnight. 

The City of Dallas is aware that the multi-family development has problems, including structural and electrical issues, criminal activity, and a former landlord that was trying to evict residents who had paid their rent on time. 

Melton and a team of attorneys intervened on the eviction matter, saturating Justice of the Peace courtrooms on days when eviction dockets were posted. The city stepped in weeks prior to the fire and appointed a “receiver” to oversee the Meyers Street complex. 

Jennifer Brown, Dallas’s manager of public information, told CandysDirt.com earlier this month that there are properties throughout the city that have a long way to go to meet minimum property standards. The city increased staffing to its multi-family property code enforcement team and assigned staff and resources to focus on properties that have egregious violations and bad business practices, Brown said. 

“The city filed a lawsuit against the [Reed Manor] property owner to address the outstanding code violations and ongoing criminal activity at the apartments at 2625 and 2627 Meyers Street,” Brown said in a July 14 interview. “The city obtained a court order requiring the property owner to repair all outstanding violations and implement crime prevention measures. Following the owner’s failure to do so, the court appointed a receiver to take possession and control of the property. The receiver is now responsible for abating both the outstanding code violations and ongoing criminal activity.”

In addition to addressing code enforcement and crime, city officials have been meeting with Melton and other nonprofit agency representatives and stakeholders to talk about revising minimum property standards. 

“Today started with a meeting at City Hall with some of my favorite leaders in senior city staff,” Melton posted July 22. “We convened to discuss public safety planning in multi-family properties, but all we talked about was emergency response systems and how we could do better. By the way, we need to have these conversations.”

What’s Next

By the middle of last week, many Reed Manor residents were moved into hotels, thanks to donations from the public. 

“An entire team of nonprofit professionals and city staff is now fully engaged in the business of rehousing every resident currently living at the property, including a full needs assessment to determine necessary wrap-around services,” Melton wrote in a Facebook post. “The plan is to move each of their things into storage ASAP and then put each resident in a hotel temporarily until permanent housing is identified. Many refuse to leave the property because they fear that their things will be stolen if they do. The Dallas Eviction Advocacy Center and other nonprofits will be covering moving costs, deposits, and first months’ rent so these folks aren’t just pushed into the street.” 

The following day, July 22, Melton reported that “42 souls” were rehoused into temporary shelter in four hotels. Numerous volunteers offered time, transportation, cash, clothing, and food. Melton is intentional about identifying those who helped — as well as showing the names and faces of those who were displaced. 

“After we bused everyone to the safety of a hotel, I turned around. There was no one here. They were all gone. It felt cold in the stillness of the 100-degree heat,” Melton wrote on his Facebook page July 22. “I found myself at once happy about the work we had all done today, with our many partners. And also sad about a community I had come to know that was no longer here.”

But there’s still the matter of what happens in the long term for Dallas residents with limited income and few housing options. 

“We need to do something about this — not tomorrow — as soon as possible,” Melton said. “I get it. These aren’t the people we put on our marketing materials. But they’re our people. They’re mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, and most importantly, our neighbors. And we owe them at least a little bit of humanity in their moment of need.”