If you ever want to know anything about government hand-outs, ask an immigrant hotel housekeeper. Lynn is one of those people who gets along with most everybody and there is no "class system" with her. She's worked at the Hyatt for 15 years (until COVID) and people tend to hang in their own cliques. Lynn, on the other hand, is friends with everybody except the obvious assholes. The housekeepers and maintenance people like her because she's a bit higher up in the hierarchy, yet they're comfortable talking with her about their personal lives, problems they have with their jobs, fellow employees, whatever ... and they know, if they want their conversations to remain private, Lynn will see to it they do. She's always been that way and people trust her.

I say all that just to establish the relationship she has with the "lower echelon" within the company. They even call her at home if they have personal problems as they trust her and appreciate her opinion or guidance. One thing we've learned through the years is, if you want to know about ANY government (hand-out type) program, ask a housekeeper! The hotel closed down when this virus thing hit and she still has a couple of housekeepers and a maintenance guy who call regularly to talk about general life and how they're doing through this Corona thing. Now, the "maintenance guy" is what they title as an "Engineer", but he's the one who shows up at the door if a guest complains of a stopped up toilet or an inoperative tv. One of the housekeepers (from the Philippines) has become a pretty close friend and since her husband is basically home bound and going through cancer treatments, we occasionally invite her out with us just to get her out of the house. A couple weeks ago, she asked Lynn if she's applied for her $2000 from the CARES Act. We didn't have a clue what she was talking about, so she gave Lynn the website. She said she's already received her check. We asked if she was talking about the $1200 payment (we both received) and she said, "No, it's supposed to help with expenses, does not count as income and does not have to be repaid." WTF? MORE "free" money? I thought that was what that $1200 was for. (???)

Well, Lynn applied last week, was approved, and the check came in the mail today.

govtcheck.jpg

Now, the weird part is, we had heard NOTHING about this program, but as I said previously, ask a housekeeper, they don't miss a beat! It's no wonder we keep hearing of people on unemployment who don't want to go back to work. Lynn's making more staying at home than she did working! BUT ... that's all going to come to an end soon enough. Florida has one of the shortest term unemployment systems in the country at 12 weeks. They've approved an extension for another 6 weeks, but most of the rest of the country is at 26 weeks plus 13 weeks extension, so once she gets off the government teat, finances will get a bit tighter around here.

Anyway, I really don't understand the program and don't know if it's local or National, but if any of you (or a family member) is in a bind, you may want to look into it. We wouldn't have had a clue if the housekeeper hadn't filled us in. I'll attach the website for OUR county so you can brush up on it, but I think the CARES Act is a Federal program, so it may be available everywhere for all I know. Every little bit helps.

https://www.polk-county.net/news/new...ailable-may-19