When the eviction notice arrived in the mail, questions raced through Lucinda’s mind:
What am I going to do? Where am I going to go? What will I do with my furniture?
She had no answers.
There was a time when Lucinda, who is 64, would not have imagined facing such hardship. Before health issues upended her life, she worked for 11 years in a law firm’s title department. She took pride in providing for herself.
Then came a foot surgery, followed by complications. Over the past 10 years, she has endured 19 surgeries, an ordeal that has taken a toll not only physically, but emotionally.
“It’s been a rough ride,” the Cincinnati resident said.
Lucinda relies on Social Security disability payments and $23 a month in food stamps. As such, she walks a financial tightrope: an unexpected expense, such as another surgery or medication, can throw everything off.
“Social Security is not enough. Once you pay rent, gas, electric and your phone bill, there’s nothing left,” she said. “I didn’t even have money to buy toilet paper and everyday household items.”
So when the eviction notice arrived last spring, she was in crisis. Her Council on Aging caseworker suggested she call United Way 211.
“I was nervous,” Lucinda said, “because I wasn’t sure they were going to help or what was going to happen. I don’t have anywhere to go, and no means of moving.”
Lucinda spoke to a 211 resource navigator.
“He listened to me, and how I had to make a choice between medications and paying the rent. He was very compassionate. He cared from the first moment I called him. He said, ‘Don’t worry.’”
Lucinda was told she qualified for Access to Counsel, which provides rent assistance and legal counsel to Cincinnati residents facing eviction. The program’s partners are United Way, the city of Cincinnati, the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts Help Center and the Legal Aid Society of Greater Cincinnati.
“They made it so easy for me. They called my rental company and got everything they needed. I really didn’t think it was going to happen.”
But it did. Within two weeks, her rent was up to date.
And, the 211 resource navigator went further, helping connect Lucinda to a network of support, including a charitable pharmacy and a food bank.
“Everybody worked together to get me in a position where I didn’t have to worry about where I was going to go. It was unbelievable, and I thank them as well as God for getting me over another mountain so I can breathe and relax and feel safe and comfortable in my home.”
Lucinda is especially grateful to 211. “It came at the time I had no one else to turn to. It’s inspiring to know there are still compassionate people who care about others.”
