JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Thousands of Duval County residents lined West Monroe Street Monday awaiting some financial help amid COVID-19, and many people said the process was very smooth.
“The mayor nailed it,” said Jennifer Richardson, who said she was in and out of her appointment with a $1,000 card in 15 minutes.
The only negative feedback First Coast News received was some misunderstanding during the application process online.
The $1,000 dollar stimulus cards were distributed by appointment only, and that appointment time is allotted before the user submits the application. The city said some people saw that appointment time slot on their screen, believed they were finished and didn’t click submit. Those people were never provided a confirmation number to hold their appointment and were turned away when they showed up Monday.
“I saw some people get turned away because they couldn’t prove they had an appointment,” said Shawn Collins, a Duval County resident who was furloughed and received stimulus money.
Collins said the money is a great relief as he's still waiting on his unemployment benefits.
The city said others who were turned away had an error when entering their address, which often was due to the user forgetting to add an apartment number.
The city says no guarantees, but for those who showed up and were turned away due to adding an incorrect address, they will try to work with them to possibly give them a card in the near future.
The city says everything from the website to the workers was planned out only five days beforehand.
“I asked my attendant, she said they just got trained yesterday, and it went seamlessly,” Richardson said. “I didn’t see any problems anywhere.”
People repeatedly said just how hard the staff worked to keep the environment with thousands traveling through clean and safe.
“They’re very particular about wiping the desk down after every person,” Richardson said. “They give everyone a mask before they come inside and they are very particular that everyone stands on a yellow line.”
The 40,000 person cap has been reached for the program, but many hope this seemingly easy process can be expanded for more people.
“I think it’s unfortunate when there’s a 40,000 people cap when there are so many people in need in Jacksonville,” Collins said. “I’m grateful for being able to get through today and have it available.”