JACKSON, Miss.—A white Jackson Public Schools pickup truck backed into a space in front of a cluster of apartments at the Blossom Apartments on Woodbine Street in South Jackson on Aug. 13. Volunteers began pouring out of nearby cars and gathered around the truck, unloading new backpacks, school uniforms with tags and supplies from it to help families of students facing water outages and eviction amid a dispute between the complex and the City.
“When you think about a water outage, (there are) the struggles with being able to wash clothes every day. So we provided additional uniforms,” Jackson Public Schools McKinney-Vento program manager Tiffany Jones told the Mississippi Free Press on Aug. 14. “Also, they had the bottled water, but in our hygiene kit, we have products available in there (for) their house. So just our basic needs are in there. Then the school supplies. I know that other some of the families are having to move out and sometimes they leave things behind.”
Blossom residents are caught in the crossfire of an ongoing battle between the utility company JXN Water and several apartment complexes in the metro area. The complex owes more than $400,000 for water, but owner Tony Little blamed the issue on an underground water leak and faulty usage calculations. The City of Jackson’s investigation into the water issues at Blossom Apartments revealed mold, mildew and flooding issues…