CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Delays with North Carolina’s unemployment system nearly left a Charlotte woman homeless. She said she lost not one, but two jobs in 2020. While she waited several months for her benefits, she said she faced the possibility of eviction.
It’s shedding light on an issue that’s taken center stage after evictions resumed in Mecklenburg County last month.
The woman told WCNC Charlotte's Defenders she went into 2020 thinking she was financially secure with two jobs, but then she was fighting just to keep a roof over her head.
This year has taken away a lot, but Sophie Shamsiddeen has lost more than many people this year; not one, but two jobs, and nearly her apartment too.
“I almost lost my home,” Shamsiddeen said. “I could have been evicted.”
She said she filed for regular unemployment benefits after she was laid off from her full time job as IT contractor in January. Then in March, it went from bad to worse.
“Everything was shutting down,” said Shamsiddeen.
Shamsiddeen said the restaurant where she was a part-time hostess was also shutting down and she ended up furloughed. On the same day, she says benefits from her initial claim were denied because of an error on her application.
“It was like my whole world came crashing down," Shamsiddeen said.
Then in April, she submitted a claim for her second job loss through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program.
“For the past five months, I’ve called every single day,” Shamsiddeen said.
While she waited for unemployment benefits, she missed rent payments month after month.
“May, June, July, I was in deficit,” Shamsiddeen said.
After several conversations with apartment management, Shamsiddeen says she faced the possibility of eviction in June. She told WCNC Charlotte she was on an eviction list.
“They (the apartment management) were understanding of my situation, but at the same time it’s a business to be ran,” she said.
She’s not alone. There’s a major backlog in eviction cases in Mecklenburg County, after the court process resumed last month. At the time, Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden called on other sheriffs in North Carolina to help people struggling.
“I would challenge every sheriff to give $1,000, one time to do that, and I'd be willing to give my $1,000,” Sheriff McFadden previously told WCNC Charlotte.
Fortunately, Shamsiddeen was able to find help.
She said Crisis Assistance Ministry provided her with $2,000 in rent assistance. WCNC Charlotte asked her what would have happened if she didn’t get that assistance.
“If I didn’t, I would probably be evicted right now,” Shamsiddeen said.
However, she’s been able to keep her apartment. In June, Shamsiddeen found a new IT job.
“I survived five months with no income,” Shamsiddeen said.
However, she’s still trying to catch up on rent payments.
Two days after her interview with WCNC Charlotte, Shamsiddeen said she received a letter from the state denying her benefits. The letter said her job loss was not related to COVID-19.
Now, she’s looking for legal advice to help with her case.