STATEWIDE — Some Floridians want to show the state just how many people are suffering because they cannot get their state and federal unemployment benefits. 

Self-employed worker Glenn Barca says this time of year would normally be his busy season, where he earns most of his annual income chauffeuring VIPs to golf resorts in Tampa.

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But the COVID-19 outbreak has changed all that.

“At the worst possible time of the entire year, this has to hit,” Barca bemoaned.

With no one to pick up from the airport, Barca turned to trying to get some unemployment benefits. He doesn't qualify for state unemployment benefits, because he's self-employed. But he could qualify for federal CARES Act assistance, which was created to help those who were impacted economically during the coronavirus pandemic.

But to apply for it, he had to use the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity’s website.

“I’m thinking this is going to be a smooth roll out, right? Wrong,” Barca said.

It's the same website and system that has been so troublesome for so many Floridians, Gov. Ron DeSantis recently called it a "jalopy" and said people can submit claims on paper via snail mail.

Then on Friday, thousands of people trying to check the status of unemployment claims got a message that the website, called CONNECT, will be down until Monday morning. Individuals can still submit claims, but the site wouldn't be available to people checking on their claim status.

"CONNECT is currently processing payments. We apologize for the inconvenience. CONNECT will be available at 8:00 a.m Monday, April 27,'' the message on the sign-in page said.

“You get to the end, and it would boot you out, and you’d have to start all over again right from the beginning,” Barca said.

Fed up with not being able to get help with unemployment benefits, Barca started a petition online nine days ago. Called, “Florida #FLDEO ‘Fully Implement’ The Federal CARES Act Now,” the petition demands that DeSantis and the state’s Department of Economic Opportunity release “the monetary resources and adopt all guidelines for Pandemic Unemployment Insurance which is stated in the Federal CARES ACT …”

And he quickly found out that he wasn’t alone.

“To date, I have over 7,000 signatures, and it’s growing very rapidly at a pace of about 800 signatures a day at this point. It’s heartbreaking to read these comments,” Barca said.

Barca joins others in this digital fight for a better unemployment system, like the people who were organizing a social media protest for Friday. The day-long protest encouraged people to share their stories using #FLDEOvirtualprotest and tag state leaders. Organizer Kayla Langborgh hoped the protest helps put faces to those numbers.

“It’s a family, it’s a single mom with two kids,” she said. “It’s more than just words on a screen.”

The state’s leaders are pleading for patience as they work to hire more staff and increase their server capacity.

“Nobody expected this to happen … I just ask everyone to be patient I know how important these benefits are and we’re working as hard as we can,” said Secretary John Satter, who DeSantis appointed to head the Florida Department of Management Services recently.

But Barca says being patient has gotten them nowhere. By speaking out, he hopes the state will actually make visible progress in helping Florida’s unemployed.

Barca has actually now joined together with a woman in South Florida with a similar petition which has more than 4,000 signatures. He says both have been delivered to the governor and other state leaders.