PHOENIX — Off 27th Avenue and Camelback Road, you'll find the letter 'V' spray painted on homes inside the Periwinkle neighborhood.
The vacancy is visible where Alondra Ruiz called home for the last decade. Ruiz and her family were told to move last year but have been fighting to stay ever since.
Ruiz says, "I have my first amendment right to freedom of speech and I would rather keep that over Grand Canyon University trying to silence me."
Ruiz says she is speaking out for those who cannot in her neighborhood. She says several residents who received aid from Grand Canyon University, signed a non-disclosure agreement.
Ruiz says, "If I accept anything from them, they will silence me and I'm not going to sign anything."
The Ruiz family is leaving their home Friday. They provided a copy of the non-disclosure agreement GCU gave to them.
In a new statement provided to ABC15, Grand Canyon University tells us:
“No one has been evicted and we continue to work with a half dozen organizations that are all working together to find solutions to best meet each of these individual family’s needs. The housing expert, Trellis, that we hired to assist tenants has been able to help every family that has been willing to work with them. Every one. In addition to the financial assistance GCU is providing, in many cases Trellis has been able to access additional private and public funds to assist tenants further. If someone is not willing to receive the help that is being offered, that is their decision.”
Ruiz says, “We refused to work with Trellis because we didn't trust them, they were employed by GCU."
This year, a new state law was passed to give families more money to relocate.
The Ruiz family has found a place to park their RV, which they now call home.
