TAMPA, Fla. — A mother and son are getting ready to move into a new home that is part of Phase II of the City of Tampa’s Infill Housing Program.
Velina Glass and her son Chris, who has disabilities, were previously living in an apartment. Velina said their plan at first was to stay in their apartment before moving into their new home in August. Suddenly, like at many other apartment complexes, the rent went up.
Velina and her son could no longer afford to live there.
Right now, they are sleeping in their car one night and a motel the next.
“It’s more than a struggle. It's a loss of dignity to a certain degree,” Velina said.
Like many others, the pandemic was extremely hard on her family.
“Every day you get up you think are we going to sleep in the car, are we going to be in a motel, are we going to be in a hotel?” said her son Chris.
The mother and son are now counting down the days until August when they will finally have their own home. She said not having a place to go at the end of the day has been extremely difficult.
Velina said she is thankful the City of Tampa is prioritizing affordable housing. She said being able to say she will soon be a homeowner is an incredible feeling.
“I won’t have fear of being on the street again,” she said.
For this affordable housing project, the city previously awarded 17 vacant lots to local developers. Those developers are now turning those lots into affordable homes like this.