to whom it may concern,
 
 
          I am writing to tell you about an issue with unemployment. Five years ago, I had an overpayment of benefits. Due to being hit by another driver that was drinking and driving and subsequently having a stroke in the aftermath, I didn't understand how to report income, so I made some mistakes. I take full responsibility for that. I have paid all of that money back. Now I have 12 penalty weeks left. This is not normal unemployment, this is a pandemic. The office will not give me any money to live on. I totally understand that they want to keep my weekly benefits. They won't give me the $600.00 a week from the cares act. I am not the only one with this issue, There are thousands of people just like me. That is not fair for the state to hold all income from us. We should be permitted to have some income. There are people that owe unemployment money. The unemployment office offsets their weekly amount, but they give them the 600.00. How is that fair? I am high risk, and the government is forcing me to go to work and risk my life. We are people, not statistics. Our state is giving Clemency for non violent prison inmates to get out of prison early to protect their lives. Although our governor doing a great job, do our lives not matter?  Doesn't  non violent citizens deserve clemency of Penalty Weeks. We also have bills to pay. Please help us in this fight for equality. We are desperate to financially and emotionally live our life as normal as we can during this tough time. We can't do that without any financial support.  This is an issue that demands immediate attention. Many of us will be homeless and in debt in a few months or even in a few weeks . I am a waitress and have no idea when I can go back to work. Many of us around the country have more weeks than I do. We need help and I'm hoping and praying we will get some. The money from the Cares act is federal money for this pandemic, we should be entitled to it. The state received repayment, now it feels like I'm being punished for doing the right thing. That is not right, and it certainly isn't fair to people that try to follow the rules in life. Please help us. I speak for all of us that are going through this injustice during this pandemic.

Sincerely,
Tracy Finney

Youngstown, Ohio