JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — When a First Coast bus driver lost her job two months ago she reached out to the On Your Side team for help navigating the unemployment maze.
After walking her through the process and helping schedule an appointment for the City of Jacksonville stimulus — she is able to feed her family and pay rent.
When the school buses stopped running, Gwendlyn Peavy stopped getting paid. She shared her story over the past couple of months as she tried to make ends meet without a paycheck.
“I was broke. I didn’t have nothing,” Peavy said. She paid her rent with her last check but it wasn't enough to care for her car.
As she had problems with the unemployment site, the On Your Side team brought her concerns to the state. She even tried in off-peak hours, then started to fill out a paper copy we sent her when upgrades online allowed her to file.
“It makes me feel so relieved,” Peavy said about her application being filed and her first check coming in.
Then the City of Jacksonville stimulus was announced. For the single mother stretched thin to take care of her kids — her car and rent were coming due. Another wait but she made an appointment and gathered all her paperwork.
The line stretched half-way around the Jacksonville Library Wednesday morning, she said.
“It went really fast and as soon as it hit 9 o’clock and they started taking people in, I was in and out in 15 minutes,” Peavy said, flashing a smile after receiving her money.
Peavy has applied for other jobs and still hoping to return to her 19-year career behind the wheel, one that keeps her on a schedule matching her kids.
But Peavy is not giving up. She’s digging in to take care of her family. She wants others to keep their chins up too.
“I didn’t think it was ever going to end and then but then it all came in and I got everything straightened out,” Peavy said.