Oregon man becomes homeless while waiting for unemployment benefits
PORTLAND, Ore. (KATU) — Another Oregonian has become homeless waiting for benefits from the Oregon Employment Department.
Jason Pence is the fourth person in two weeks that KATU has spoken to who is facing eviction or already evicted from their home while waiting for those benefits.
Pence said he was evicted for nonpayment and had received a court date but ultimately decided to settle with the landlord outside of court to avoid it being on his record.
He left his home two weeks ago and has been staying in a hotel, thanks to points he accumulated through work travel.
For more than two decades Pence built up a career in telecommunications. He said with years of a stable income, he never imagined he could be faced with homelessness after being laid off.
"All I need is a little bit of help to get me through to the next job, and all I get is just roadblocks and no help," he said.
He filed an unemployment claim with the Oregon Employment Department at the beginning of February. After two weeks with no response, he waited hours on hold to talk to someone about his claim.
"I finally got through to somebody and I was instructed to file a new claim through Frances," Pence said.
Frances is the new software system the employment department switched over to at the end of February.
Since the switch, KATU has been flooded with calls and emails from applicants complaining about long wait times and a lack of communication from the state agency.
Now the newsroom is starting to hear from some people like Pence who face homelessness.
"I had to move out of my apartment because my landlord had filed for an eviction, and I had been at the residence for two weeks after the filing had taken place. I was quickly approaching the court date," he said.
Pence signed a disclaimer, allowing the employment department to talk to KATU about his case.
It declined an interview but sent a statement saying it recognizes it’s been hard for Pence to reach the department.
"We sympathize with Mr. Pence. It's extremely hard to lose your job and be at risk of losing your housing, too," the department said. "Unemployment Insurance is a complex program. It takes time to make sure people are who they say they are and that they are eligible for the program. We use the escalation process for people like Mr. Pence, who are facing extraordinary circumstances and need help faster."
The employment department said the reason Pence's claim is delayed is that he missed a job skills appointment, but Pence said he never received information informing him about the need to schedule an interview.
Note: The below information in this article was added on April 16th after the Employment Department was able to gather and provide KATU with evidence of their claims. This article was originally published on April 12.
The employment department provided KATU with a copy of the message Pence received in Frances advising him about that requirement although Pence said the wording of the message did not make it clear that the requirement was stopping him from obtaining benefits.
The instructions were provided in response to a request for a status check that he sent on March 8. According to documents OED shared with KATU the department responded to Pence's inquiry on March 20 noting that his claim was still being reviewed and was waiting to be assigned to an adjudicator after a few more paragraphs advising Pence about processes and procedures the message goes on to advise him that he still needed to complete eligibility requirements.
"There are also two eligibility requirements that need to be completed. Please contact your local Work Source office request an appointment to schedule an RESEA interview. There is also a further identity verification process that needs to be completed and you can complete this during the RESEA interview," the final portion of the message reads.
Pence said he must have missed that portion of the message.
OED also provided KATU with the call notes from a customer representative Pence allegedly spoke with on Feb 21. The notes indicate the representative informed Pence of the outstanding WorkSource eligibility interview requirement.
Pence said he was not made aware of the requirement.
OED contests that claim saying Pence scheduled an interview with Worksource. The agency provided KATU with a copy of the teams scheduled interview that appears to have been sent to Pence's personal email. Pence denies having received it.
OED also provided KATU with the copy of a letter Pence was allegedly sent on Feb 13 with a checklist of items including the Worksource interview requirement that would be needed for his claim to be processed.
Pence said he did not receive the letter. OED said those letters are now also sent through the new software system however that would not have been the case for Pence since he filed prior to the switch in March.
Pence acknowledges he may have missed some details in the instructions he did receive however he said he feels the state agency should not be blaming claimants for systemic communication issues on the state agency's side that he feels are at the root of the delay with his claim.