PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — After months of waiting for his state unemployment benefits a West Palm Beach man says, Monday the check finally came, but it was way lower than expected.
“I would say it really started changing for me in April when all the bills starting piling up,” Richard Stanley said.
Stanley lost his job in April, by July he was starting to lose hope. That’s when we first spoke with him about his letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking for help.
After several months trying to obtain unemployment benefits, this week it finally came.
“13 plus weeks before I even received not even one payment,” he said. “Today they just deposited like $1,400 and that was for 6 or 7 of the $241.”
Stanley says that didn't include an additional $600 in federal benefits for the time he was out of work.
“That $600 maybe for some people they are playing with it, but for people like me, we really need it,” he said.
The $600 weekly supplemental federal benefit that was passed under the CARES Act expired Friday. It will likely be several weeks before lawmakers agree on a new plan.
“It was I think July 12th when I got my first payment,” Holly Faris said.
Faris, a celebrity impersonator, says even though it took months for unemployment benefits to get approved she was able to receive the $600 benefit. Now that it’s expired she worries how she will cover her mortgage since entertainment venues are closed.
“We pay the taxes, we vote. Our voices matter and they need to listen to us,” Faris said.