UPDATE: Henrietta Hughes says she's not milking the system

[John Kerry VonErich]

Source: WINK News

By Nick Spinetto, WINK News

Story Created: Feb 12, 2009 at 5:10 PM EST

Story Updated: Feb 13, 2009 at 1:24 PM EST

SOUTHWEST FLORIDA - A woman making national headlines after a tearful moment with President Obama has a new home.

Thursday morning, Chene Thompson handed Henrietta Hughes the keys to her home in Hendry County. Thompson is the wife of State Representative Nick Thompson (R-District 73). Hughes and her son will live at the home rent free.

However, a local organization is coming forward saying Hughes isn't being honest about how much help she's had in the past.

The director of We Care Outreach Ministry, Tanya Johnson, says just last month she offered Henrietta Hughes permanent housing and a place to stay free for three months, but Hughes refused.

"We would have allowed her to stay for the first 90 days, no income. You know free," said Tanya Johnson.

We Care Outreach Ministry is a faith based organization in Fort Myers.

Johnson says she also gave Henrietta and her son Corey, money, food and offered Corey job training courses, but it was refused.

"We have extended a lot of her services to her," Johnson said.

But Henrietta Hughes says these services weren't free and the apartment in East Fort Myers came with a price tag.

Hughes says Tanya Johnson wanted $400 a month immediately.

The disability check Hughes gets is a little more than $800 a month.

Hughes owes money on a loan, has her car insurance payment, a monthly storage bill and says she couldn't afford the rent.

"Where was I going to get $400 a month to give her if I got these expenses," Hughes told WINK News.

WINK News Reporter Nick Spinetto went back to talk to Tanya Johnson and she stands by her story.

Henrietta Hughes says she's never taken advantage of the system and doesn't choose to be homeless. Like other programs she's tried to get help from,she says We Care couldn't meet her needs.

State Representative Nick Thompson and his wife Chene are standing by the Henrietta and her son, Corey. They spoke out against the allegations Henrietta is milking the system, even when confronted with the fact WINK News found out the Hughes' sold property, back in 2005. This is after Henrietta and her son lost thier home in 2003 and started living in their car. Henrietta and her son sold the land for $47,000 dollars. But Chene Thompson says that was all the money they had for several years and it's gone.


Read more: http://www.winknews.com/news/local/39518252.html

[amitten]

1. Obama didn't know this, and did the right thing by offering help.

It is never, ever wrong to try to help someone apparently in need.

[grannie4peace]

6. she didn't do anything disgraceful at all! what didn't obama know?

[amitten]

9. I'm just saying that regardless of any new details on the story,

true or untrue, Obama still did the right thing.

[grannie4peace]

10. yeah- that's true!

[Iliyah]

13. There goes the GOP machine

Destroy anybody or anything that makes Pres. O or any other party look good.

"God" only favors the GOP and their drones.

[DBoon]

2. After spending taxpayer money on Wall Street bonuses

it takes a lot of nerve to accuse this woman of "milking the system"

[AzDar]

3. Jeebus H. Christ, ain't THAT the truth?

Unbelievable.

[Howardx]

4. of course they must destroy her

par for the gop course.

[MessiahRp]

5. Chalk up another one for government services over giving a dime to faith based organizations

If she had gone to a government agency that would have been confidential. Instead a faith based organization, likely helping their GOP friends out, tried to smear her by releasing information that should have never made it beyond the doors where their personal discussion originally took place.

Stop funding these people.

Rp

[offog]

16. This really stinks.

I wonder if Mrs. Hughes would have a basis for a lawsuit against We Care Ministries for going public with information from her file. I don't know if there's any law against a non-government agency releasing information like that. Any lawyers out there know?

[Barb in Atl]

7. This doesn't make sense...

Tanya Johnson says they offered a place for 3 months free as well as permanent housing. Well, 3 months isn't permanent. I don't know if I would take it (probabaly, because my son is 9) because in 90 days, you are back to square one. And job training is great - if there are jobs to get. Job training doesn't provide a salary, and both Mrs. Hughes and her son HAD employment. It's not like they are unemployable. Although, not having an address doesn't help.

Also, she sold property in 2005, netting $47k. Props to her for making that stretch for 3+ years.

Finally, the representative that handed over the keys to the house is a REPUBLICAN. What to me should be a feel good story and a win / win is turned into nonsense attacking someone that needed help and received help from "the other side".

I think WINK ought to look into the non-disclosure forms of this ministry and see if they just screwed themselves over by talking about a client without permission.

[Downwinder]

8. Sounds like We Care Outreach Ministry is the one milking the system. n/t

[tooeyeten]

11. $400?

was that a kickback?

[Stellabella]

12. I automatically don't trust 'We Care Outreach Ministry'.

Somebody needs to do a little digging to see who is behind that organization.

[MrsBrady]

14. so why would these "we care" people even criticize?

I would think the response would be.
Great, they found help.

geeez

[strategery blunder]

15. It is now three full years after 2005, when the property was allegedly sold.

47k/3 years=15.6K/year.

Not really much in savings, isn't it? Yeah, the Hughes depleted it. They had to, to survive? Who am I to question that?

Of course the repuKKKes will make it look as if she stuffed it in some Swiss bank account, just like the bank executives robbing us blind by hijacking taxpayer bailout dollars.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

17. another site has reported that Michelle Malkin is urging her zombies

to go after her ala the schip kid. These are some sick people.