Client Stories

“Maryanne,” who suffers from PTSD, recently moved from the Midwest to Jacksonville, where she lives in public housing owned and operated by the Jacksonville Housing Authority. The conditions in her roach-infested apartment, where she had to go through a central lobby to get to the elevators, triggered her PTSD, and she was unable to live there. Without taking the proper steps under Florida law, Maryanne withheld her rent due to the conditions of her apartment.

“Belinda” and “Ernest,” an elderly couple living on rental assistance in Fernandina Beach, came to JALA after their rent suddenly increased from $479 to $730. They had lived in the same complex for eight years and couldn’t afford the sudden 66% rent increase. In 2018 their adult daughter had come to the United States from Australia. Because she was unable to handle her own funds, her husband, who was still in Australia, sent Belinda and Ernest money to pay her expenses, including her rent at a motel. The landlord counted these funds as income to Belinda and Ernest and raised their subsidized rent accordingly.

Facing foreclosure on their home, “Evan and Shayla Marks” came to JALA a few weeks prior to the pending sale date. Shayla had developed health problems that caused her to have to give up her job, and she was in the process of applying for Social Security disability. Meanwhile, she and Evan had fallen behind on their mortgage payments and had been trying to enter into a loan modification with their lender. But they were repeatedly told that their papers hadn’t been received. The court directed them to JALA for help.