I'm in Florida. My profession is self-employed so I didn't think I'd qualify for unemployment benefits and just burnt through my savings during the lockdowns. But then I kept seeing and hearing others in my profession getting Federal "Pandemic Unemployment Compensation" so I was told to apply through Florida DEO/CONNECT system just for them to turn me down and then I'd qualify for the federal PUA. So I applied 8/21/20 and I've provided every bit of information you could possibly imagine but they've "Locked me out" ever since. I've had to re-verify my ID over 100 times, I've called them hundreds of times and it just hangs up or I'm put on hold and have waited for over 4.5hrs just to be disconnected. I've requested help every which way possible dozens and dozens of times with no response. towards the beginning I got a letter in the mail that said I had to respond within 7 days but that letter arrived 2 days after the 7 day deadline! But I had already seen and taken care of on-line what the letter was about, thank God! And all I've needed Florida DEO to do is determine that I haven't worked for any employers who carried unemployment insurance in the last 2-3 years and to turn me down so that the federal PUA would kick in! Then on 4/2/21 my wife's employer remodeled their office and she had a "slip and fall" down the stairs which fractured 4 lumbar in her back which she's been bed bound recovering ever since. I've been doing my best taking care of my wife like an in-home nurse, and taking care of our 2 children. Recently our car was repossessed, we've sold every last asset/possession of value that we owned, our house has foreclosed and is going up to online auction this Tuesday 7/27/21. Our credit scores are in the dumps which triggered our car insurance rates to double(apparently Progressive monitors their customers credit reports) and home rental rates have skyrocketed. We've applied to rent at over a dozen places that charged us rental application fees(at $100+ a pop) just to turn us down. So we're probably going to be homeless in 2 weeks. But our faith is strong and our prayers are being heard as God has provided just enough to keep our family together and our health intact. We're not starving. Clearly the DEO/CONNECT system is intentionally broken or designed to not pay out benefits to hard working Floridians like myself. That it's actually designed to make us claimants just give up on any attempts to make a claim... #unemployment #FloridaDEO # #advice #benefits #florida