Over 150 people turned out for a rental and utility assistance open house in Evansville on Saturday.
Organizers say that people were in line before eight thirty for the ten a.m. event Saturday. They hoped for a good turnout and they got one. Kari McAllister’s imminent issue was a common one Saturday. She’s about to lose her electrical service.
“Yeah, they’re about to shut me off."
How soon?
"Next week.”
McAllister says her first day back at work after being laid off was Saturday, but bills have piled up beyond what her paycheck will cover.
Indiana’s moratorium on evictions ended last Friday. Scott Wylie with the Volunteer Lawyer Program of Southwestern Indiana says evictions will be the next round of problems.
“If we were here in two weeks, I think you’d see a different kind of complexion. It’s just that the utilities being shut off is more imminent than being kicked out of the house right now.”
With thousands of local residents facing utility shutoffs and evictions, organizers say they will likely hold more of the assistance events in the coming weeks. Information on rental and utility assistance is available on the Reopen Evansville portal.
