LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Uncertainty and frustration. That’s what a Las Vegas valley mother is going through as she tries to get her latest unemployment payment. It’s just one of many issues we’re hearing from claimants as the state's jobs department moves to new debit cards to hand out benefits.
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For Heather Wesolowski, her two girls mean the world to her. She currently relies on unemployment benefits to take care of her daughters.
“Put gas in the car, go to interviews, find a babysitter. That is all I use the unemployment money for,” she said.
She recently moved into a new apartment more than a month ago, and that’s when things hit a snag with her benefits. Wesolowski updated her information with her new address but didn’t get her debit card from the Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, also known as DETR.
“They called me back later in the day, said to wait 48 hours to contact Way2Go, and I contacted them that following Monday, and for two weeks now they had not received my updated address,” she said.
The delays became worrying as Wesolowski began wondering how she was going to pay her bills.
“I went through a lot. It kind of breaks you down into a depression because you don’t know what’s going to happen next,” she said.
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Wesolowski says she wasn’t the only claimant going through issues. On Facebook groups and messages to our newsroom, claimants mentioned issues with missing debit cards or missing funds from those cards.
DETR says a bank holiday Monday for the Fourth of July can delay payments. It also says it has a team working to update all addresses for active claimants.
DETR says new debit cards should arrive in the mail through the first week of July.
Wesolowski did manage to get some good news, finding out her address was eventually updated this week and a new debit card would arrive in several business days.
“Definitely don’t give up. Try every outlet and every contact and outlet you possibly can,” she said.
DETR also says if claimants haven’t gotten their debit cards by July 9 to call Way2Go at (844) 542-1115 to check on their status.
