Fuquay woman fears losing home to eviction after losing husband to pandemic

Months after losing her husband to COVID-19, a Fuquay-Varina woman could soon also lose the home they shared for 15 years.

Diane Judd said she is thousands of dollars behind in rent, and she doesn’t have the money.

During the 47 years she was married to Teddy Judd, he was the provider, she said.

“It has just been rough because he took care of everything – the bills, the problems, everything that came up,“ Judd said Wednesday.

But that ended in February, when he became another victim of the coronavirus pandemic.

“They had to put him on a respirator, and after that, we had to go to the hospital to see them take it off him, and he didn’t breathe anymore after that,” she said.

Since his death, the bills have piled up: A car has been repossessed, and Judd could be evicted from her home if she doesn't pay her rent by Sept. 9.

“I am tired of things getting taken away that I need,” she said. "At night, it gets worse because he was always there with me."

According to a U.S. Census Bureau survey, more than 7 million Americans are behind on their rent or mortgage. In North Carolina, that works out to about 6.2 percent of the state's tenants and homeowners.

Judd said she applied for rental assistance through Wake County, but that can take weeks to process.

“I am going to have to move, and I have nowhere to go,” she said. "I am praying everything will come through. It’s going to be tight. Yeah, it’s going to be real tight."

After hearing of Judd's plight on WRAL News, a local church said they want to help her with her rent.