After searching high and low for a new home after their previous landlord raised the rent too high for her to afford, Nancy Vega and her three children were told the house they just moved into was for sale.
“I found out it was for sale when we moved in,” she said. “I’m afraid to even unpack my boxes.”
Vega is worried she might not find any place she can afford. “I can only afford $900 a month,” she said. “I am on the waiting list for low-income housing, but so far, that has not come through.”
Though she works full time, there never seems to be enough to make ends meet. Vega worked for the Okeechobee Health Care Facility for almost nine years before going to school to get her CNA license. Now, she works as a home-health aid and at night, she studies to get her GED so she can continue her education and become a nurse.
“I’m not looking for a handout,” said Vega. “I just need a place to live. If someone could just point me in the right direction, that would help a lot. Most places want first, last and security, and I just don’t have it.”
Vega grew up in Okeechobee, went to school here and now has three children enrolled in the Okeechobee County school system. “All three of my children have maintained almost straight A’s since kindergarten. I want a better life for them. My oldest is going to be doing dual enrollment at the college next year, and the other two are in gifted classes at school.
The family attends church at New Saint Stephen AME.
If you have any leads on a place to rent, please contact Vega at 863-447-7503 or on Facebook as Nancy Nancy or by email at Nancyvega1188@gmail.com.
