Local

‘It’s been a nightmare’: mother faces eviction after federally funded program missed rent payments

ORLANDO, Fla. — When the pandemic hit many people who lost jobs turned to federally funded agencies to help make rent payments.

Alisha Hamilton, a mother of three, lost her job as a home health provider when the pandemic hit.

In order to make rent she applied to the federally funded program, OUR Florida, to help make those monthly payments.

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Alisha said she was approved for assistance from “OUR Florida” months ago, but claims the federally funded agency hasn’t been paying.

“As of October 5, they were supposed to pay my new rent, and here I am in March and I still have not paid my rent,” Hamilton said.

She said while she has had issues in the past, the missing payments are out of her control.

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“It’s been a nightmare for me having to worry about my rent, worry about where my kids are going to sleep. It’s affecting everything for me,” she said.

After Eyewitness news contacted OUR Florida about Hamilton’s predicament they promised to look into her case.

From Feb. 17 through Feb. 23, OUR Florida said it had approved 6,189 applications and distributed more than $37.3 million in relief to families behind on rent and utilities payments.

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According to the Florida Housing Coalition, they have received reports from people all across the state experiencing the same problems.

Last week OUR Florida announced they had increased the number of personnel to help handle requests.

The agency said they have more than 1,200 employees processing applications, answering calls and supporting the program.

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They say that is an increase of more than 70% from just one month ago.

The agency hopes the increase in personnel will help with distributing relief more efficiently and effectively.

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Jeff Deal

Jeff Deal, WFTV.com

I joined the Eyewitness News team as a reporter in 2006.

Matt Reeser

Matt Reeser, WFTV.com

Matt Reeser joined WFTV in 1998 as a news photographer and has worked for television stations in Kentucky and West Virginia.