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Story of Justice: Claire’s benefits are terminated for not having access to her mailbox

Claire’s benefits are terminated for not having access to her mailbox

Background

On a Tuesday morning, Claire*, a struggling senior, received a letter from the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). The letter explained they were terminating her food stamp benefits for failure to reapply on time. It all stemmed from an ongoing dispute Claire had with her landlord, who in retaliation denied the senior access to her mailbox. As a result of being denied access to her mailbox, Claire’s food stamp benefits were terminated by the DCF for failure to timely reapply. Due to the dispute, the Landlord not only decided not to renew Claire’s lease which was set to expire in 6 months but filed an eviction action against her.

Assistance

DCF mailed a recertification letter to Claire advising her to reapply by a certain deadline. However, since she was still being denied access to her mailbox, she was unable to reapply by the deadline. Finding herself in a bad situation, Claire reached out to Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida (CCLA) for free legal assistance with her case.

Prior to contacting CCLA, Claire had tried to recertify and provided DCF with a copy of her expired lease which DCF rejected. CCLA contacted DCF to advocate on the behalf of Claire as to why she was unable to reapply on time for the benefits.

Why It Matters

After weeks of assistance and representation, CCLA was able to get DCF to reinstate the senior’s food stamp benefits. DCF reinstated Claire’s regular monthly food stamp allotment of $230 and paid her $900 in back benefits. Claire also received assistance from friends and family to move to a new location, where she would not have to deal with the abusive landlord anymore. Needless to say, Claire was very thankful to CCLA for guiding her through this troublesome time in her life.

For more information about Coast to Coast Legal Aid of South Florida (CCLA), please explore our website.
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*Names, images, and details have been changed to protect our client’s privacy

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