COCONUT GROVE, FLA. (WSVN) - Dr. Ben Carson, President Trump’s secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was awarded the key to the city of Miami, Friday.

Not only did Miami Mayor Francis Suarez present Carson with the key to the city, but he also thanked him for the $3.2 million in federal assistance from HUD that went to three programs in Miami to help people who were financially struggling as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

One of the programs helps residents who have lost their jobs and cannot afford to pay their rent, while the other two programs help deliver aid to small businesses that were also impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The $3.2 million is part of the $2 trillion CARES Act that Congress passed at the beginning of the pandemic.

Mayor Suarez said the $3.2 million was enough to help the city’s residents. He also said he would take every single penny he could get if he was offered more money, but he was thankful for what he was given.

Carson was asked what he would say to the people of Miami who requested stimulus help but have not received it, and he said that it’s not exactly the government’s role to help and solve every single problem.

“It doesn’t all have to be the government. In fact, that’s not how our system was designed,” he said. “The government will do as much as it possibly can, but we need to help each other.”

“We have come together to provide the maximum amount of help,” Suarez said. “We knew from the get-go that the resources would not ever be sufficient for the need.”

As Carson was leaving city hall, 7News asked him what he would say to people who have been out of work for two months who can’t make the rent on June 1, to which he replied, “It’s a long answer, but we’re gonna do everything we can to help them.”

As of Friday, nearly 50,000 residents in the City of Miami have applied for the rent relief program.

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