SPRING, Texas — Dionna Jackson, 40, sat on a long wooden bench nervously scrolling through old text messages on her phone while waiting for her eviction case to be called. More than 87 people joined her in Harris County Judge Lincoln Goodwin’s packed courtroom on the last day of January.
“I’ve found a place for me and my children to stay,” said Jackson, who has three school-aged children. “I just need a few weeks for my income tax [refund] to come in.”
Jackson applied for the Texas Rent Relief Program in October when she first lost her job, but her application has not been processed. She found a new job that pays much less, but because she fell behind two months in rent, the late fees have increased her bill by more than $300 each month.
