A MOTHER and her three children were forced to go into an emergency shelter after they were evicted despite qualifying for rental assistance.

Nieshea Walker from Cincinnati, Ohio saw her family torn apart after a $100 rent increase meant she fell behind on payments.

The 34-year-old mother works full-time at McDonald’s as a night-shift manager making $33,000 per year.

However, the spike in rent which brought monthly payments up to $1,200 made it impossible to keep up, and after two months of failing to pay, she was sent an eviction notice by a Hamilton County Judge.

The family was evicted in late December 2022 and given seven days to leave their home.

However, Walker kept her family in the apartment until January as she waited to hear about securing aid through the county’s rental assistance program.

On January 11, Walker was approved to receive $6,549 to cover the rent that she had failed to pay, three months of future rent, and some fees that came with the eviction.

Despite sending evidence of the relief approval to Blue Vista Realty, her apartment’s management company, she and her family were still evicted.

After emailing Saravana Bharathi from Blue Vista evidence of the funding she got a reply saying: “Thank you. Your eviction will be canceled if we receive the month before set out date.”

However, not even two hours later, the mother got an email saying: “The owner doesn’t want to accept the payment and he wants you to leave.

“They already called the bailiff to set out.”

When she enquired about the set out date, Bharathis told her to “call the bailiff to find out” and was then told: “We don’t manage this building anymore.”

The mother was informed that she should contact someone at Paradigm Property, another management firm but she did not receive a response.

“I knew I had gotten the run-around,” she said.

Walker loaded her car with as many of their things as she could and ended up in the shelter for the poor.

She told Defector.com that her 14-year-old daughter moved to her grandmother’s house out of embarrassment.

“She is in a tender place in her life and was embarrassed around her peers about being homeless,” the single mother said.

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Meanwhile, Walker and her nine-year-old son Key’marre and seven-year-old daughter Key’arah are living at the shelter.

According to the news outlet, Key’arah will abruptly go from smiling to “contemplating overwhelming, almost unfathomable changes.”

The mother later found out that the relief funds from the program had been paid to Blue Vista Realty on February 9, according to Hamilton County records.

Walker claimed that she got no answers to her questions when she approached the company about it.

“I call what has happened to me ‘The Big Runaround.’ It gives me a lot of anxiety,” she said.

Meanwhile, life in the shelter is confusing for the children with the family being moved from room to room three times in three months.

The family also had to process the sudden death of a baby from a nearby room, “it’s confusing for them here,” Walker said.

When the news outlet attempted to contact Blue Vista about the change in management they were told that the company no longer runs the building.

On discussion of the payment made by the county in February, the company said: “We didn’t execute the writ, I don’t know who did. Also, we didn’t manage the property at the time this tenant [left] the place.”

The reporter then contacted Paradigm Property and was sent the following email: “Blue Vista Realty LLC filed the eviction.

“We took over management of the property after and only managed it for less than a month…Blue Vista Realty LLC is who you should be speaking with.”

“It’s been a mind-boggling experience,” Walker said.

“It’s like your government is helping you pay your rent and someone just stole that money from you.

“I’m so caught up in just making sure I have somewhere to lay my head.”

“I know that once I get stable housing I can stabilize myself,” she added.

“Our situation does not define us. We’re going to make it out of this.”

The U.S. Sun has contacted Blue Vista and Paradigm Property for comment.