ORAMGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County residents who rely on benefits like SNAP and Medicare are running into online roadblocks and long lines in person.
For days, the Orange County Access Application Center on North Powers Drive has been overwhelmed.
Channel 9 recorded long lines of people waiting for assistance on Wednesday and earlier this month.
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Lines wrapped around the shopping plaza and those waiting told our crews they had been in line for hours.
Multiple tipster’s told Channel 9 that demand has been up at the center for days.
It has forced some who need help on pending applications to return multiple days in a row.
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Applicants visit the ACCESS Center for all kinds of in-person support including translation assistance, access to public computers, and assistance troubleshooting errors on pending applications.
One woman told us she applied for benefits on December 12, but her application was missing proof of income documentation.
Despite trying to submit via the website she couldn’t properly upload documents.
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That’s when the woman claimed she began calling the state’s information call-line to no avail.
“You can’t get in on the phone, so you have to go in person so they can investigate and tell you what you need,” said the woman who asked Channel 9 to remain anonymous.
That woman said she was one of hundreds who waited hours in line.
“I felt defeated, I felt overwhelmed, and I immediately started thinking what are my options to feed my two kids and my family,” she said.
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A Channel 9 crew member attempted to call the state’s information call-line Wednesday, but an automated message said the line was busy and directed callers to visit myflfamilies.com/myaccess for updates and answers to frequently asked questions.
“If you still require assistance from an agent please try your call again later,” said the message before the call was automatically disconnected.
Channel 9 did reach out to the state about this.
The Press Secretary for the Florida Department of Children and Families told Channel 9 his team was working on a response, but we still haven’t heard back yet about how the state is addressing this problem.
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