ORLANDO, Fla. — Dozens of people lined up outside an Orlando Social Security office early Thursday.
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Channel 9 saw about 40 people waiting outside the office on Gatlin Avenue before 7 a.m.
The office did not open until 9 a.m.
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“I think this line sucks,” one person told Channel 9. “I expected a lot of people. Not this many people,” another person said.
The first person in line on Wednesday arrived at 1:30 a.m. Someone showed up at 10 p.m. Wednesday to be seen on Thursday. That person told Channel 9 that this was their fourth attempt.
We found out that many people slept outside in chairs to guarantee themselves a spot inside. The office turns everyone away once it hits capacity.
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“Either open earlier, stay open later or hire more people,” a person in line said.
We reached out to the Social Security Southeast District office for answers. It admits there’s a problem. In an email, it explained that it has already added and reassigned employees from other offices to the Orlando location to better serve the public. But the long waits remain.
Due to COVID-19 restrictions, security continues to only allow five people in at a time.
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“You just have to be patient and hope for the best,” a person told Channel 9.
There are appointments available online but only for certain services.
Most people in the line need card services, which can mostly only be done in person.
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