Food stamp process slow but helpful

Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina experienced signs of frustration, hunger and despair as they waited to apply for emergency assistance at the state Office of Family Support on Wooddale Boulevard.
Slowly but surely, after hours – and sometimes days – of waiting, the state government provided temporary Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to victims.
Until Sept. 9, all statewide family support offices will be open 24 hours.
On Sept. 2, the first day of the extended office hours of the state Department of Social Services, more than 3,000 evacuees applied for assistance at the department’s Wooddale Boulevard’s location, said DSS officials.
Albertha Armstrong’s Kenner home is flooded. She arrived at 8 a.m. to find more than 500 people ahead of her waiting for emergency assistance. Armstrong, the sole provider of her family of nine, has never received food stamps before and said she needs help now in any form.
“I need them now because my funds are tied up and I can not get to my money,” Armstrong said. “These are the only resources I have at my disposal.”
Armstrong submitted her application at approximately noon and was given several options for when and where she could receive her Louisiana Purchase EBT card. Officials told her she could wait along with the hundreds of people that were ahead of her, leave and wait for a telephone call, or receive the card in the mail.
Armstrong did not have a permanent address or a telephone so she opted to wait in the 90-degree weather.
Faces of the working class citizens were seen throughout the lines. A security officer announced that anyone that had a Louisiana Purchase card did not need to reapply and no more than 10 of the hundreds of people in line left.
Bruce Causey, an evacuee from New Orleans, said he is taking it one day at a time.
“I think they waited too long to get organized,” Causey said. He also arrived earlier that morning and had to wait days to receive his card. Causey was staying with three other family members at his brother’s home in Baton Rouge.
This was also his first time applying for government assistance.
“This is very hectic and disgusting and extremely exhausting in the daytime,” said Judy Clark of Metairie. Clark evacuated with seven family members and though her home is not flooded, the roof is caved in.
According to Adren O. Wilson, assistant secretary for the Department of Social Services, the same criteria – the number of dependants and income – was assessed to determine the amount of funds to be distributed to the evacuees.
“We are giving emergency food stamps for one month,” Wilson said. “As we assess the disaster, we will be looking at the disaster calculator and we may give a little bit more,” he said.
Evacuees who already have food stamps were issued money on Sept. 1 and will receive another allotment on Sept. 15. If a previous assistance case is closed, applicants must reapply.
“When this is all said and done, we will probably help hundreds of thousands of people,” Wilson said.