TAMPA, Fla — Since March, the City of Clearwater had temporarily suspended the termination of city utility services for non payment and temporarily waived late payment fees on bills from April 1 because of the pandemic.
Three months later, the city of Clearwater announced that, beginning July 1, it would resume terminations and charging penalties for late payments.
At last check, Florida's unemployment rate reached 14.5 percent in May of this year -- leaving many out of work and with limited options.
Mary Kollydas-Smith worked for more than four years with a company called Power Up but found herself unemployed and applied for assistance on March 22.
"I didn't have many options, so I did what I could to get help. I applied for unemployment and food stamps. Together they were bringing in less than $500 into my home," Kollydas-Smith said.
Mary said she never knows what to expect from her benefits and takes things a day at time. She recently applied to Clearwater’s Rent, Mortgage and Utility assistance program in hopes that they could assist her with mounting bills.
"What I liked about the program was that they said they would pay up to 3 months of delinquent funds. I didn't hear back from them for a month after I applied and they told me I didn't qualify," Kollydas-Smith said
Mary provided 10 Tampa Bay with the below screen shot of the reply message.
Programs like The city of Clearwater We Care Fund, Covid Care Pinellas Relief Program and Clearwater’s Rent, Mortgage and Utility assistance program are necessary and in high demand during these tough times.
The City of Clearwater We Care Fund, has been able to help hundreds of people dealing with hardships since 1992. Contributions to the We Care Fund are handled by the local Salvation Army, to provide temporary assistance to eligible customers of City of Clearwater utilities.
Clearwater’s Rent, Mortgage and Utility assistance program supports eligible individuals and families who lost their jobs or a significant amount of their income due to coronavirus by offering a one-time assistance payment for overdue rent, mortgage and utility bills for up to three months. The overdue bills must be dated for April 2020 and beyond. Payments are given directly to the utility, landlord, mortgage holder or other eligible agency to which the individual bills are due.
"I think the programs are helpful, or as helpful as they can be. I just haven't gotten any assistance outside of food stamps, which I now no longer receive, or unemployment that has its own issues. I don't discredit the programs. I just have personally gotten help from them," Kollydas-Smith continued. "But a lot of people are struggling right now, anything helps."
Customers with questions about their bills or who need help paying them are asked to contact Utility Customer Service by phone at (727) 562-4600 or email customerservice@myclearwater.com.
The Utility Customer Service office at 100 S. Myrtle Ave. and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
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