Posted on 02/13/2009 11:45:39 AM PST by GOP_Lady
UPDATE: Henrietta Hughes says she's not milking the system By Nick Spinetto, WINK News
Story Created: Feb 12, 2009 at 5:10 PM EST
Story Updated: Feb 13, 2009 at 1:41 PM EST
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - A woman making national headlines after a tearful moment with President Obama has a new home.
Thursday morning, Chene Thompson handed Henrietta Hughes the keys to her home in Hendry County. Thompson is the wife of State Representative Nick Thompson (R-District 73). Hughes and her son will live at the home rent free.
However, a local organization is coming forward saying Hughes isn't being honest about how much help she's had in the past.
The director of We Care Outreach Ministry, Tanya Johnson, says just last month she offered Henrietta Hughes permanent housing and a place to stay free for three months, but Hughes refused.
"We would have allowed her to stay for the first 90 days, no income. You know free," said Tanya Johnson.
We Care Outreach Ministry is a faith based organization in Fort Myers.
Johnson says she also gave Henrietta and her son Corey, money, food and offered Corey job training courses, but it was refused.
"We have extended a lot of her services to her," Johnson said.
But Henrietta Hughes says these services weren't free and the apartment in East Fort Myers came with a price tag.
Hughes says Tanya Johnson wanted $400 a month immediately.
The disability check Hughes gets is a little more than $800 a month.
Hughes owes money on a loan, has her car insurance payment, a monthly storage bill and says she couldn't afford the rent.
"Where was I going to get $400 a month to give her if I got these expenses," Hughes told WINK News.
WINK News Reporter Nick Spinetto went back to talk to Tanya Johnson and she stands by her story.
Henrietta Hughes says she's never taken advantage of the system and doesn't choose to be homeless. Like other programs she's tried to get help from,she says We Care couldn't meet her needs.
State Representative Nick Thompson and his wife Chene are standing by the Henrietta and her son, Corey. They spoke out against the allegations Henrietta is milking the system, even when confronted with the fact WINK News found out the Hughes' sold property, back in 2005. This is after Henrietta and her son lost thier home in 2003 and started living in their car. Henrietta and her son sold the land for $47,000 dollars. But Chene Thompson says that was all the money they had for several years and it's gone.
"They have nothing today. They need help today. They didn't need help in 2005. They need help today. So whether they had $47,000 or $147,000 in 2005, it doesn't matter. They don't have any money today," she said.
The Thompson's say they are sad Henrietta has to defend herself against these allegations and they will continue to help her. They also hope it doesn't deter other people from helping.
Stupid RINO who gave her the home - what a freaking tool - now the press can push the white guilt crap even more.
Stupid RINO who gave her the home - what a freaking tool...yep this idiot will be a prime example of the Katrina victim syndrome. I say with in 30 days the crap will hit the fan.....the Hughes will claim squatters rights and then sell the house out from under the owners!
Hmmmmmm, she gets $800. a month, that's more than "nothing". Henrietta needs to learn how to budget her FREE money, secondly, perhaps her do nothing son Cory should find a job to help support himself AND his mother.
I smell something fishy..... Kinda like all those fainting ladies at 0bama rallies during the campaign.
Her makeup was too perfect, and her clothing was too nice, and wow she was seated in the front row.
I call this another BS stage act on the part of the Sith Lord 0bama to dupe the ignorant masses.
This is a joke. Wait til all the slackers find out bozo really is passing out houses!!!
Wowee!!!
=
They do nothing for what they do have is more accurate.
My rough estimate of homeless people who choose to be homeless is about 95%.
Many of them would rather have a place to live but their choices have made them homeless.
hughes was a plant
At the risk of sounding like an R___ the only thing I would give that woman is a bag to put the pickings in.
Clicking over to the source article always brings a sense of dread because most sites include comment sections and most stories about scroungers like this idiot have a shocking number of posts defending said scroungers - the only reasonable conclusion is that they are scroungers themselves who don’t like having the light shining on their day-to-day bone idleness.
Her son could take any job he could find and work to help out until he can find something better. Considering that the We Care lady reports that he has declined job training, I seriously doubt that he is looking to support himself. It is a shame that he was raised with no more ambition than he exhibits.
I might add too, that at her age, Henrietta has been exposed to the generosity of the public dole for most of her life. That is apparent because she is expert at begging and relying on others to take care of her and her non-working adult child.
I also wonder why in the world this woman would pay storage fees for years on things that can probably be replaced when you get on your feet. Sell your things and use the money to live. Get more things when you can. We are not responsible for your bad decisions.
A new lady security guard started with our firm a couple of weeks ago. The security company provides services for our firm. I heard her on her cell phone tell her boss that she could not make more than $900.00 a month, else she would lose her monthly Social Security disability benefit. She told me that she was in an automobile accident years ago. I asked her when the doctor released her back to work. She told me 17 YEARS ago. So, this lady has been limiting herself to be low-income for that many years. That’s truly sad.
Think she has problems now? Just wait until she gets a 1099 for “income” because she’s living rent-free.
ping (but you knew that, LOL)
The “storage fees” jumped out at me too...
obviously she has a lot of “stuff” that could be sold, then she would have money and no storage fee.
It’s actually NORMAL for low income people to pay half of their income on housing.
Go suck an egg, Henrietta. We know you were a plant.
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