Orange County residents can try again Wednesday to apply for $1,000 stimulus check
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. - After receiving 50,000 applications on Tuesday, Orange County has closed their CARES portal for the day and will reopen it again on Wednesday to allow more residents to apply for the $1,000 stimulus.
The stimulus program is making $36.5 million worth of one-time $1,000 payments to eligible Orange County residents.
Frustrated residents logged on Monday at 8:00 a.m., which was the first day to apply. After just minutes, the site stopped taking applications.
“It’s very frustrating. You’re trying to get some money; your government is telling you you got to stay home for three months. How many people can live for three months without any money coming in?” resident Art Schwartz said.
FOX 35 News took the frustrations to Orange County, which clarified that the website did not crash. It was always the plan for only 2,000 applications to be processed on Monday.
Then on Tuesday, the application portal for the new Orange CARES program closed after 90 minutes on Tuesday after 50,000 applications were received.
They announced on Twitter that they will take more applicants on Wednesday.
For individuals to be eligible, you must meet the following criteria:
- Reside in Orange County, Florida
- Pay rent or own a home in Orange County, Florida
- You or another adult in your household lost a job or experienced a reduction in hours at work due to COVID-19
- You and all adults in your household are a U.S. Citizen or permanent legal resident
When the CARES portal reopens on Wednesday, you can apply at ocfl.net/orangecares.