MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Struggling to stay afloat, a Memphis mom faces eviction as her 12-year-old son battles cancer.
“It’s just been hard for me to make ends meet,” Latoya Benton told WREG’s Jonee Lewis.
In April 2019, Benton’s husband of 14 years died. Then last year her son was diagnosed with cancer on Christmas Day.
“Chemo takes everything out of you and as a kid it’s hard on their body. He’s having it rough and I guess the hardest part is his dad is not here with him,” she said.
But Benton and her oldest son have been with him every step of the way making sure he gets to and from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital for treatment. Doing that has limited her ability to work.
“It ain’t like I’m not trying to work. I just can’t find a job to work with my schedule, to work with my son’s treatment,” she said.
She was hoping the recent stimulus and her tax refund would help, but they’re still being processed. Now she’s in jeopardy of being evicted.
“So now I’m facing eviction and trying to find the resources or anything to help me and my boys keep a roof over our head and just keep us together,” she said.
Cindy Ettingoff with Memphis Area Legal Services said many are in a similiar predicament. Last week, a federal judge ruled a group of local landlords could move forward with evictions. This is in addition to hundreds of people who were already facing immediate eviction due to the pandemic.
“There’s no reason that, if you are someone wishing to evict a tenant, there’s nothing that would hold you back at this juncture,” explained Ettingoff.
It’s why they’re relying on federal funding and working to create more local programs to assist people during these difficult times.
Benton said she’s hoping one of those will come through for her before her April court date.
“I just hope something will come through to keep me and my boys from being homeless,” she said.
Applications for the Eviction Settlement Fund re-open next week. For more information, click here. If you would like to help the Benton family, you can donate to her GoFundMe here.
