“Marcia,” a single mother whose adult son has a disability, was delinquent on her mortgage after a COVID-19 hardship. She had entered into a COVID-19 forbearance, and once it ended, her loan servicer told her she had to pay almost $8,000 in one lump sum.
“Margie and Frank Wilson,” a Clay County couple in their late 70s, came to JALA for help after becoming delinquent on their mortgage following a forbearance period. Social Security was their only source of income, and they had been struggling to make ends meet for several years. JALA offers housing counseling through a grant from Clay SHIP, or the State Housing Initiative Program, which provides local governments with funds to create housing programs to assist income-eligible residents.
“Ariana” came to JALA after her mortgage company wanted her to pay the whole sum that was due from the period when her family had received pandemic-related mortgage forbearance. Her whole family had not only had COVID-19, but the head of the household had lost employment due to the initial shutdown. The family had resumed their mortgage payments, but when asked to pay the whole sum due, they could not afford it.
Although “Jim” was no longer married to the mother of his stepson “Bryan,” when Bryan asked to come live with him, Jim welcomed the young man into his home. He knew he could provide Bryan the safe, stable environment the teen needed.
“Sally,” a highly decorated Gulf War combat veteran, suffers from a severe psychological impairment due to her time in combat. Her adult son “James” purchased a dog for his mother named “Sweetie” hoping that having him would help his mother mitigate the effects of her psychological disability. James had a dog of his own already. After meeting Sweetie, he decided that he liked the breed so much that he got another dog, the same breed as Sweetie, named Sugar. Several month later, Sally separated from her husband and moved in with James. Because of a two-pet rule of his condominium association, Sally had no choice but to give her dog to her adult daughter.
The “Robertson” family came to JALA when they were under threat of losing the home they had worked hard to purchase. Several years before, they had entered a contract to purchase their rental home from family members, the “Sellers.” They paid a down payment to get started and dutifully made their monthly payments over the years.
R.E.S.T.O.R.E., a Jacksonville charity that seeks to reduce recidivism by providing support services to ex-offenders transitioning back into mainstream society, acquired by donation a vacant residential lot from the City of Jacksonville. The previous owner, a corporation, had stopped paying property taxes on it. Having acquired the property in a tax sale, the corporation attempted to create a conservation easement on the property by conveying it to a conservation trust. The corporation then stopped paying the property taxes.
“Asmaan” came to the United States from Afghanistan after ISIS fighters attacked her village, killed several of her family members, beat her over the head with a gun, sexually assaulted her, and left her for dead. After seven years in the U.S., she was about to lose her SSI benefits.
After attending several outreach events conducted by JALA’s Veteran’s Service Unit, “Chuck,” a 72-year-old Duval County Veteran, came to JALA for help defending against a garnishment in small claims court. Attorney Declan Duffy of JALA’s Veterans Service Unit determined that Chuck was collection-proof, as the household’s only income was VA disability and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
“Sebastian,” 75, and his wife, “Elena,” 74, came to JALA for help after the property manager at their HUD-subsidized apartment in Middleburg, Fla, told them they could not leave Elena’s power mobility device near the entrance to their apartment. She needs the scooter to get around, while Sebastian uses a walker, and the couple also have a wheelchair van to assist with their mobility. Due to their disabilities, both are only able to walk short distances at a time. Unfortunately, their apartment is on a long hallway, and when they leave home, they have a long walk to get to the elevator and then to the parking lot. Sebastian would park Elena’s scooter, get their van, and then help Elena into it. He would then usually leave the scooter somewhere close to the door, rather than bringing it all the way back to their unit.
