MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Many Serenity at Highland residents received letters in recent weeks stating they owed hundreds of dollars in rent and would be evicted Jan. 17.

Minnie Fisher was one of them.

Like many of the Serenity residents, Fisher is on a fixed income and has a disability.

“I was upset, and I started to cry, that’s all I can do,” she said of receiving the letter.

“It’s incredibly traumatizing,” said Brad Watkins with the Mid-South Peace and Justice Center.

According to Watkins, at least 50 Serenity residents have gotten these eviction letters. Some have already gone to court to fight it with their help.

“Some of these people have notices saying they owe $4,000,” he said.

Watkins said many of them can prove they paid their rent, though. He blamed Millennia Management for its faulty record keeping.

He described a situation with another woman he helped.

“She got served by the sheriff’s department. She was terrorized,” Watkins said. “So she brought them all her receipts. They said she’s fine. Then we went to court and she’s on the docket to be dismissed. Then she has to go back to management again and explain, ‘Didn’t we already take care of this?’ They say yes. Now two days later she gets one of these letters again.”

Fisher said she also paid her rent, but she hasn’t gotten any legal help yet.

Those who went to court on Jan. 3 are due back on Jan. 17, which is also the deadline for eviction, according to the letters.