SALISBURY, Md. - After our story aired Wednesday my inbox was filled with emails from frustrated renters who are trying to make ends meet during this crisis.
One of them from a college student, who's struggling to pay her own rent, but hoping she can help others in the process.
Carissa Antonis is a senior at Salisbury University. After the stay at home order came down, her job was put on hold.
"My rent is $870 a month, and I only have about $3,000 in savings - so it's not going to last long like I can't afford food on that, I was really stressed out about it," explained Antonis.
With limited savings and no income, Carissa started a petition to help her fellow college students who are struggling financially.
Antonis says she doesn't want a free ride. She just wants to get through this crisis and start making money again so she can pay.
"Within 24 hours I got over 1,000 signatures and I emailed them this morning but I haven't heard back yet," she told us.
We reached out to University Orchard for comment, but have not heard back. Antonis later reached out to us and shared that she had heard back from University Orchard and they are going to work with her on a payment plan.
Another renter who reached out to us is Jeremy Ober of Salisbury. Ober is frustrated with how his leasing company is handling the monthly rent.
"My landlord has just very aggressively tried to let us know that rent is due. I've got some letters here that have been posted on my door - like they literally sent their employees door to door during a pandemic and put the safety of their employees and their tenants at risk," said Ober.
Ober's landlord, Salisbury Apartment Group, said in a statement, "This is a standard process and has not changed. Recent notices have included information on how to submit maintenance requests online, how to pay rent online and how to best contact us during this time."
They also said they are encouraging communication with their renters about their financial situation.
While evictions have been put on hold amidst this crisis, renters are still expected to pay their rent. Resources are included below:
If you live in Delaware, you can find resources to help you during this time here.
If you live in Maryland, you can find more resources here.
If you live in Virginia, you can find more resources here.
For COVID-19 information from HUD, click here.