I-Team: Viewers attempt to help evicted woman who lived with pets in a car

LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – A fund continues to grow to help a woman who has been evicted from her home.

8 News Now Viewers are reaching out to us after seeing Corrine Contino’s story shared for the first time by I-Team.

Contino was evicted from her home, leaving her – and her pets – homeless and living in a car.

She tells the I-Team that she is currently staying on a friend’s couch while her pets are in a shadowless yard in the heat.

“It has been so heartbreaking and so scary. I can’t begin to tell you, ”she adds.

The I-Team shared Contino’s story last week when she expressed that she had lost her business due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With no income and months of unpaid rent, Contino was eventually evicted.

“I slept in my car with my animals the first night,” she recalls.

Since then, viewers have reached out to 8 News Now to help in any way they can.

Monday afternoon, donations totaled over $ 3,400 in a GoFundMe Account.

“I want to say thank you to everyone,” Contino said.

Her landlord tells the I-Team that he will let Contino return to the house if she pays rent of $ 8,800.

She says she hopes to do so if she can raise enough money.

Contino tells the I-Team that the rent is less than $ 700.

That’s well below the average rental rate in the Las Vegas area of ​​over $ 1,200 for an apartment.

“I will never find a place with a yard where I can have my dogs and shade and I was very comfortable there,” she adds.

Both Contino and its owner relied on the CARES Housing Assistance Program (CHAP) for help.

According to Nevada law, a tenant should not be evicted if they are waiting for their application to be processed.

Records show Contino may not have mentioned the request at a hearing and deportation was ordered.

Now that she has been evicted, according to Clark County, those housing dollars will not pass.

“This pandemic has destroyed my life,” says Contino.

Evictions are expected to continue to rise as more tenants like her struggle to pay their bills.

“It wasn’t supposed to happen,” she adds.

Viewers who contacted 8 News Now asked if Contino’s dogs could help, but at the moment she doesn’t want to be separated from her pets.

For more information on resources for tenants and landlords, click on the links below.

• For more information on Southern Nevada Legal Aid Center click on services here.

• For more information on The CARES Housing Assistance Program (CHAPS) Click on here.

• For more information from The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development or (HUD) on the fair market values ​​for rentals of different sizes click here.