“People are out here working, but they are still behind, and they need to know there is hope, that there is help – and they don’t know that. I have told many people about this program, and they don’t believe me. And I tell them not to take my word for it, but to go find out for themselves. I can only lead them to the water but I can’t make them drink. But I am so glad I went to that water and I drank – and it was cool water.”
After working 20 years at her job, Ms. A needed to take a medical leave which made her eligible for short-term disability. Unfortunately, her short-term disability paychecks were not enough for her to continue paying her rent and she began to fall behind. Ms. A found out about UPO’s Homelessness Prevention program through one of her neighbors, who found out about the program through the radio. When she first heard about it, Ms. A did not think it was real. But with her landlord continuing to contact her about her past rent, and fear of being evicted, she decided to check out the program, but she did not get her hopes up. Ms. A figured she would only be able to get her current month’s rent paid off, which would have been great – but she’d still be responsible for the rent she owed and the rent for the upcoming months. Still, she checked out the program, and the result was life-changing. UPO assisted her with $4,983.00 in back rent and future rent. “I didn’t get the phone calls from [my landlord] anymore. And I was able to relax. There was no pressure. And that feeling was wonderful, and I would not want anyone out here [to go] through what I was going through and not [know] there’s hope out here. And UPO will help you.”
