Rent on her apartment went up so she rented a small room. She can’t afford it either
Amparo Nuviola has as few possessions now as when she arrived from Cuba in 2017. The 64-year-old seamstress had to get rid of her furniture in July when she moved out of a one-bedroom apartment because the rent was raised. She is now living in a small room in a mobile home, for which she pays $650, and she cannot afford it either.
Nuviola works as a seamstress in a Goodwill Industries workshop, but she has not worked for two months because she has a shoulder injury and can barely move her arm.
“I have a hard time bathing, dressing, combing my hair,” admits Nuviola, who, even with acute sciatic nerve pain, is going to work “step by step,” she says, maintaining a good mood.
Since she has lost many days of work, there are two-week periods when she earns only $29 and other periods when she earns $300, she acknowledges. For her, she says, the increase in the minimum wage to $12 in Florida was good news, but that it is still not enough to cover her monthly basic expenses.
Wish Book can help this Miami worker
Lourdes de la Mata-Little, director of marketing, brand and communications at Goodwill Industries of South Florida, nominated Nuviola for Wish Book, a program of the Miami Herald and el Nuevo Herald that has been helping the community for 42 years, thanks to the generosity of South Florida donors who make the dreams of families in need come true during the holiday season.
“She doesn’t have a family support network,” said de la Mata-Little, indicating that in addition to the $650 rent, Amparo has to pay $35 for her cellphone.
Amparo, who is also asthmatic and suffers from depression, will soon have to undergo medical tests, which her insurance does not fully cover, so she will have to pay out of her own pocket.
“She told us that she is two months behind on rent,” said de la Mata-Little. Amparo needs cash to alleviate her financial situation, de la Mata-Little said.
A survivor of the Miami rental crisis
Nuviola was covering her monthly expenses with her job until two factors came together, a health condition and a rent increase, which put her on the verge of being homeless.
“A man who has a store here told me that he would talk to his wife to see if she had a room to rent me,” says Amparo. That is how she arrived at the room in the mobile home, which is so small that she has to put her clothes in plastic bags and move everything to cook on “a little stove.”
She also would like help buying a new mattress because hers is in bad condition, she says, and De la Mata-Little points out that she also needs a television.
Her husband died before she arrived from Cuba
Nuviola emigrated to the United States in 2017, sponsored by her husband, who was already here. But he died of cancer a few days before she arrived.
“I have days when I feel bad, I get very depressed, I start thinking about all the things and I start to cry,” says Nuviola.
She has an adult son in Cuba, whom she has not seen for two years, and a grandson she has never met.
“Now I can’t even think of going because of my health,” she says, while lamenting that she would not be able to bring anything to her son either.
In Miami-Dade, those most affected by the housing crisis are frontline workers and people who rent, according to a new employment and census analysis by the Shimberg Center for Housing Studies at the University of Florida reported by NBC Miami. The situation worsened after the COVID-19 pandemic began
“What I need most is money to pay the rent. I owe the lady,” emphasizes Nuviola. She got help buying food with SNAP food stamps, but they were cut from $200 to $32 a month. She says it is because of her immigration status, although she came here as a legal resident. She has also not been able to obtain Section 8 housing, which is federally subsidized.
A person who immigrates under a family claim must be supported by an affidavit of support, presented by his or her sponsor, who is financially responsible for the immigrant until the immigrant becomes a U.S. citizen or a decade passes.
In Florida, a single person must earn $57,064 per year to cover his or her expenses, according to the personal finance website GoBanking in a study on what a living wage would be in each state.
“I was doing a little overtime, but it wasn’t that much,” says Nuviola about the effort she made last year. “Here sometimes there is work and suddenly it goes away.” She works overtime whenever she can because “it’s a few more cents that I really need.”
How to help
To help this Wish Book nominee and the more than 100 other nominees who are in need this year:
▪ To donate, use the coupon found in the newspaper or pay securely online through www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook
▪ For more information, call 305-376-2906 or email Wishbook@MiamiHerald.com
▪ The most requested items are often laptops and tablets for school, furniture, and accessible vans
▪ Read all Wish Book stories on www.MiamiHerald.com/wishbook
