"I’m so beyond mentally unwell."
The first shock came after rising waters outside their St. Pete Beach apartment totaled their cars and shuttered their workplace, Paradise Grille. Then came the race to get in line for state unemployment aid.
Like hundreds of displaced restaurant workers, Daniel and Makaila Zelin rushed three days after the storm to CareerSource Hillsborough Pinellas, which assists with job placement and unemployment claims.
They filed claims each week, which displaced workers must do repeatedly to keep qualifying for aid. The state’s regular program gives people a maximum of $275 per week for three months — enough to cover some bills and groceries but not the couple’s monthly $2,500 rent.
As they waited for the money to come, they applied, unsuccessfully, for jobs and more disaster aid. One month passed. Then two more. Daniel took on temporary work in mold remediation. A Madeira Beach restaurant told Makaila she was hired, then stopped responding to her messages before her first day of training came, she said.
By the time a Pinellas County official handed them an eviction notice in early January, they were $4,000 behind on rent. They haven’t received a dime from state unemployment, nor from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or the slew of other aid and grant programs they’ve applied to.
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