This is the Small (Not-so-Small) Family and we are in a bit of a crisis. We recently moved to Central Florida from Virginia. We had enough money to get us through a few months while we were getting established here. In the beginning of July when we went to pay our rent, we noticed that there was a huge hold on the money that we had in our account. It turned out that a county that we lived in over three years ago had placed a lien on our account for taxes that they never tried to collect from us. We never received a bill, and what they took from us does not reflect when we actually lived in their county.

We have since been in contact with the county and the bank (because the bank charged us a large fee on top of the taxes they took).  However, it will take several weeks for them to refund us our money and the bank may not refund us the fee they took. We were only able to pay a portion of the rent because of this, and we reached out to family, friends, and now the public to help us get through this difficult time. This situation has put us in a position where we could be evicted and we have already lost the power (but thankfully a family member helped get it back on).

We have exhausted all the means we know of; we turned to the United Way and they sent us to an agency that helps in times like this and they also gave us a name of a company who gives loans to help. The agency said that because we were not residents for at least 6 months they cannot help, and the loan company’s all have said that because I do not have more than one paystub and because I do not have enough revolving credit on my history (which I thought was a good thing); they are unable to give us a loan. We do not want anything handed to us, we simply wanted to borrow enough to get us through these few weeks, and begin paying it back in August. Further, we went to the county for help and said they help with Section 8 housing, but they will not receive funding for new applicants until 2020.

We have even gone around our neighborhood selling candy bars to try and earn the money (but weather has not been permitting that the past few days). The friends and family that have been able to help have been amazing and they have done what they have the ability to do and we are grateful for them. Now that we have exhausted all our resources to fix this situation, we are reaching out to you for help. I know these are not your issues, but we have seven children and we have to do everything we can to protect them. We have started a non-profit called Small Solutions Family Ministry, Inc. After we correct our own situation, any proceeds over the $1,500 we need, will go to a fund to help other families in similar situations. The ministry is established to help as a bridge-gap that helps to prevent homelessness.

 
My main concern with this whole situation is that if it can happen to us, then it can happen to anyone. We pay our bills when we have received the bills to do so. The county that took the money absolutely abused their power to place a lien on our account unquestioned. It was automatically assumed that they did what they were supposed to do, as far as collection efforts, and they did not. It is embarrassing enough to have a lien placed on our account, but to now lose power and possible our place to live over it, is absolutely devastating.

 
Thank you for taking time to read this! 

 

God Bless, 

 

The Not-so-Small-Family