As I mentioned in the entry on my disaster food stamp experience, the deadline for Albany Park flood victims to apply for emergency Disaster Food Stamps has been extended until Wednesday, October 22, 2008.
The application must be made in person at one of the Illinois Department of Human Services offices, and it took quite a bit of time due to the volume of applicants.
From Chicago Tribune mobile edition:
More than 500 flood victims seeking food stamps lined up outside two Chicago-area state offices early this morning apparently unaware that the offices were closed.
This comes a few days after 3,000 people lined up at a Blue Island location, sparking officials to bring in portable toilets and local police to control the crowds. There also were hundreds of people at other locations.
"We understand it's a testament to the economic crisis and when you couple that with a national disaster, that's what happens," said Marielle Sainvilus, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Human Services.
On Saturday, lines formed, some say as early as 1 a.m., at offices in Calumet Park on Chicago's south side and Blue Island. Maintenance employees contacted the administrators at the Illinois Department of Human Services and staffers were sent to the scene to tell the crowd that offices are not open Saturday and Sunday, Sainvilus said.
Next week, office hours will be extended until 9 p.m. at about a dozen locations.
The deadline for flood victims to apply for food stamps was extended from Friday to Wednesday.
Disaster Food Stamps are given to families based on cash resources available to a household during the disaster.
For example, a 4-person family with a maximum allowable income of $2,328 a month would receive $565 in food stamps. A qualifying 3-person family would receive $445 and 2 persons $311.
Most benefits will be available within three days of the date of application.
Applications for Disaster Food Stamps can be filed at Illinois Department of Human Services offices listed below:
Cook County / Chicago
Calumet Park
831 W. 119th St., Chicago
(773) 660-4700
Humboldt Park
2753 W. North Ave., Chicago
(773) 292-7200
Wicker Park
1279 N Milwaukee, 3rd Fl., Chicago
(773) 292-2900
The Tribune missed the Skokie location to which I went (8020 N. St. Louis, Oakton and Central Park). There weren't thousands of people there, only a few hundred. Also, the income is based on income for the 4-week flood period minus damages. So if you have a 2 person family income of $5,000 gross (and would not normally qualify for food stamps), access to cash of $1,000, but you had $5,000 of damages, you would qualify. The amount of food stamp money you get for emergency disaster relief is a one-time thing; it does not repeat.
There was another article on Disaster Food Stamps today at Breaking News, and it attracted many angry comments. I couldn't resist responding to those angry people, so I added an entry for my Disaster Food Stamps comments.
(The Albany Park flood home page is at Albany Park flood blog: One family's experience. )
(Next part of the Albany Park Flood Story: Complaints (some nasty) about Disaster Food Stamps. )
No comments:
Post a Comment