DAVENPORT, Iowa (KWQC) - Jeanne Souza was thinking about taking her own life.

Facing a notice to vacate her senior-living apartment, Jeanne was desperate. She and her barking therapy dog, Lily, were the focus of several complaints in the building -- enough for the managers to demand Jeanne leave. The 73-year-old can hear only very loud sounds, so Jeanne relied on Lily to alert her to phone calls, doorknocks and emergencies like a fire alarm.

“What are they gonna do? Pick me up and throw me in the street? I can barely walk,” Jeanne said. “I thought about ending it, but I don’t want to do that.”

Just days away from the date her landlords set for her to vacate, Jeanne found a new senior-living apartment in Rock Island -- one that will let her keep the dog.

Jeanne is one of the lucky ones.

On Tuesday afternoons in the Scott County Courthouse, dozens of people nervously await their fates. It’s eviction court, and most are about to lose their homes.

The city of Davenport has the highest eviction rate in Iowa. It’s the 44th highest in the nation, according to EvictionLab, a database of thousands of eviction figures from cities across the nation.

And it’s only getting worse. There’s been a steady increase in Scott County eviction cases since 2011.

In Davenport, rates in the past 10 years have hovered between 8% and 13% – more than double that of Rock Island and Moline, according to Iowa Legal Aid, a nonprofit law firm that offers free legal representation. (The rate is the ratio...

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