JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A single mother in Jacksonville on the brink of eviction thought that she was out of options. First Coast News first brought you the story of Victoria Hall on Wednesday as she detailed her frustration with trying to find rental assistance after losing her job for choosing not to be vaccinated. Thursday turned out to be a whirlwind day for Hall.
It was supposed to be the day that she got help. Hall had a scheduled appointment with OUR Florida to discuss her rental assistance application. The organization even sent her an email confirmation. But when she arrived at her appointment she was told that her meeting was cancelled with less than a week before she was due to be evicted.
"This has been such a big hassle," Hall said, "all I'm asking for is help and you all are turning me away now to my face, not on the internet anymore but to my face."
Needless to say, she was stressed.
"You're worried every day 'are we going to have somewhere to sleep tomorrow, are we going to be able to make it through this situation?', Hall said, "and being so dependent on the state right now for help and them just slapping me in the face and shutting the door and not listening, that hurts, that really hurts."
Someone else was listening. In fact, Jacksonville Mayor Lenny Curry watched First Coast News' story from Wednesday about Victoria and wanted to help.
"Anyone who has lost their job due to covid or vaccine mandates deserves help," Curry said. "Government created the initial lockdowns and we had to react early on, but no individual imposed that crisis on themselves. Those people need our help and we have help available."
Less than a day after her original story aired and less than 3 hours after being told her meeting was cancelled, Victoria Hall received the help she'd been looking for. The Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), which is available to Jacksonville residents, will pay her past-due rent as well as the next three months of rent while she looks for a job.
"Getting that phone call today really changed my life," Hall said. "It makes me so happy and grateful that next week I don't have to face eviction. Next week I don't have to worry about where we're going to go, we have our home, we're going to be here."
Certainly a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year for Victoria Hall and her kids.
If you need help keeping a roof over your head there is help available. The City of Jacksonville has both mortgage and rental assistance programs and city leaders say there is also help through social services.
For information on the Mortgage Relief Program, click here.
For information on the Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP), click here.
And there’s also some assistance available through social services.