PHOENIX — Patricia Crawford, a licensed acupuncturist, has been waiting for her Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) checks since May 29. While waiting, she lost her acupuncture room, because she couldn't afford the rent.
Crawford got approved for PUA payments in early May. But she says a couple of weeks later her payments stopped. Since then she has called the Department of Economic Security (DES), but her calls have gone unanswered. She hasn't been able to even reach a representative.
Crawford is a licensed acupuncturist that primarily worked out of Scottsdale until her PUA checks stopped coming. Now she works exclusively from the small garage in her home in central Phoenix.
"It’s frightening. I was depending upon that help," says Crawford.
Ninety percent of her income from the business has been lost since her business was ordered to close then reopen.
She has reached out to the Governor's office and filed a consumer complaint with the Attorney General's office with no success.
"No one has answers, nothing makes any sense," says Crawford.
DES says the department tells 12 News they have given out more than $8 billion in unemployment benefits, saying in part, “Unfortunately, the unprecedented demand, combined with unique individual circumstances led to challenges processing claims that required human intervention. We continue to add staff in order to process these claims as timely as possible.”
But that hasn’t been Crawford's experience. For her, that check would mean everything.
"It would mean that I could stop worrying!" says Crawford.
The PUA money comes from the federal government.
It’s the DES's responsibility to distribute those funds.
Right now Congress says its working on a second stimulus bill.
However, Crawford and others, want to know what will happen to the people still waiting for the first round of bills to trickle down to them.