TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Jennifer Nicholson is a single mother of seven who says she’s been behind on rent for about two months.
“Five bedrooms, three bathrooms is $2,300 a month, plus I still got utilities,” Nicholson said. “I got to pay the light bill. I got to pay water, so when you estimate that it’s almost $3,000 just to live.”
Nicholson said her landlord has issued her an eviction notice. For the last several months, the mother has relied on rent assistance programs to pay her bill.
Metropolitan Ministries helps families like Jennifer’s who are struggling financially. The organization has a shelter program and offers rent and utility payment assistance.
But, there are caps on the amount of applications they can approve monthly.
“The issue is just the need, so even programs that are just coming out they are maxing out really quickly,” said Telva Rivera with Metropolitan Ministeries.
According to Rivera, people unable to get help are ending up at shelters.
“For the shelter applications, we’ve seen we went from 2019 with 100 applications to now about 400 a month.”
Metropolitan’s shelter is currently at full capacity with a waiting list of up to two months.
People in need of help can find information here.
