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Community and Family Rallies Behind Man to Help Him Keep His Home
CommunityAugust 30, 2024
When 57-year-old mobile homeowner Richard H’s profession of floor installation took its toll on his body, he applied for disability. Unfortunately, he was denied. Being unable to work, he couldn’t pay the rent on his home’s lot. His uncle had helped him with his bills in the past, but unfortunately wasn’t in a position to pay the $10,000 he was behind in his lot rent.
Richard’s mobile home park was now taking him to court to evict him from the property. Since Richard didn’t have the money to move his home, the result would not only be a loss of his lot, but also of his mobile home, which he owned free and clear.
Richard began working with an attorney to appeal for the disability, but still didn’t have any income to pay the current or past due rent on the lot. Luckily, another family member stepped up to bat for Richard, putting him in touch with the GLCU Foundation for Financial Empowerment.
After meeting with GLCU Foundation Housing and Financial Counselor Jeannine Folan, Richard began to feel hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. Together, Richard and Jeannine applied for the Court-Based Rental Assistance Program (CBRAP) though the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA). Beyond that, Jeannine assisted the mobile home park property manager with her portion of Richard’s application.
While waiting for the application to be approved, Richard received his eviction judgement and was given seven days to pay his entire past due balance or move out! At that point, it looked like he was going to be homeless.
Jeannine immediately reached out to a contact at IHDA who had helped her with another application. Her contact rallied a team at IHDA to get the application reviewed and approved with the hope of getting the park owner to accept the funds and dismiss the court case. This took intense effort on everyone’s part. Jeannine contacted the property manager to get the additional documents that IHDA needed for their review.
Representatives from IHDA then swiftly reviewed the application, approved it, and began working with the park owner to get the eviction case dismissed, all within the seven days after the eviction judgement was handed down. The case was dismissed and IHDA paid the past due lot rent.
While this was very satisfying news, Jeannine was still concerned about the lot rent going forward. The property manager had put Richard in touch with the local township office and they had consented to pay a portion of his lot rent on an ongoing basis. Jeannine reached out to Richard’s uncle, who agreed to pick up the balance of the lot rent each month, giving Richard some peace of mind while he awaits the results of his disability case.
“Everyone involved in helping Richard keep his home really rallied behind him. It took heroic efforts on everyone’s part, but it was worth it in the end,” Jeannine commented. “Congratulations to everyone involved for a successful resolution.”
If you or someone you know is in need of free financial and housing counseling assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out and schedule a free screening.