'From A Stable Job To A Tent: A Waiter's Homeless Struggle' [View all]

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'From a stable job to a tent: A waiter’s homeless struggle.' By Kelli Kennedy, AP News, Sept. 12, 2020.

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Jeff Lello has never been rich, but the 42-year-old could pocket $100 cash most weekend nights at the steakhouse chain where he waited tables. He always had enough money for groceries, his car and the modest Orlando apartment he rented with roommates. But when he reported for work on a Friday night in March, the manager ushered him and the rest of the staff into an office and told them they were laid off indefinitely as the restaurant, along with much of the country, shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic.



- Jeff Lello stands in front of the van in which he lives, in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel restaurant, since being laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic, Aug. 21, 2020, in Orlando, Fla. Lello is one of an estimated 20 million Americans living paycheck to paycheck, spending more than 30% of their income on rent, who are likely to experience homelessness at some point, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. (AP Photo/P. M. Ebenhack) -

Still wearing his uniform, Lello left the restaurant where he’d worked for two years, unsure of what was next. He’d been waiting tables since he was a teenager. He often picked up extra shifts and could always scrimp by. He’d never had to rely on food stamps or unemployment. But now, as he waited for Florida’s backlogged unemployment system to send money, weeks turned into months. His meager savings dried up, and he could no longer afford rent or his car. Overnight, he went from having a roof over his head to living in a flimsy tent purchased with his last $75.

Lello is one of an estimated 20 million Americans living paycheck to paycheck, spending more than 30% of their income on rent, who are likely to experience homelessness at some point, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. The group predicts that number could increase by 45% because of the pandemic. As the virus outbreak pushed unemployment rates to record numbers, Florida’s situation was especially dire. The Sunshine State was one of the slowest in the nation to process claims, delaying payments for months for Lello and others. By mid-June, the state hadn’t paid 40% of is 2.2 million claims.
“I don’t understand what I did wrong. Why me?” Lello said of the safety nets that failed him. “I had just lost all hope in everything.”

He’d never been much of a camper, but he pitched his yellow-and-blue tent deep in the woods. He feared bugs and spiders, and other homeless campers. Inside, he had a cot with a sleeping bag, and a shelf for food and belongings.
One corner was for clean clothes, the other for dirty. He threw a tarp over the top to protect against rain. Lello thrives on routine — he’d lost 150 pounds in the past year, running daily to clear his head. He was eager to maintain hard-fought gains. Most days, he was awake by 7 a.m., searching for a convenience-store bathroom to freshen up and wash a shirt. He’d head to the food bank and haul away a big brown bag of pasta, sauce and other things that require pots, pans and electricity. He gave most of it away, keeping peanut butter and granola bars — enough to get by for a day...

More, https://apnews.com/ad48b0f475cbfc8429dffea9e1d46df0