Educating the Spanish Community about SNAP

Each day I come into the EHC! office ready to face hunger in the Latino community. When I walk through the door I already have folks waiting patiently to be educated on how to obtain and/or keep their SNAP benefits.

It’s not easy to see how clueless people are about the SNAP (food stamp) program. If they only knew how simple it can be to get their benefits. Unfortunately, the client and the system can make it very, very hard for everyone.

I mean, think about! All you have to do is to fill out an application and bring it to the Department of Social Services (DSS) with all the necessary signed documents as proof. Once your application is complete all you have to do is wait for a response within 1 to 4 weeks- depending on your situation.

This should be a smooth process with no complications. It sounds beautiful but, the reality is, it doesn’t work that way. WHY? Because people just don’t understand the program. Now this is where I come in, my job is all about educating the clients.

At this moment I am the only Spanish speaking outreach worker in the office, so you can imagine how crazy it can get in here daily!

We also have the help of a very well known and respected person in the Latino community named Carlos. When he sees or hears that a person is struggling to put food on the table he tells them about SNAP and EHC!’s services. Believe it or not that person will come to EHC! the very next day.

Carlos works hard to make this a positive experience for the client and I make sure that the client understands how to get and maintain his/her food stamps. How’s it going so far, you ask? Well I strongly believe the people we’ve helped so far really understand the program now.

For example: Recently, a woman was having a conversation with the person next to her while waiting to see her doctor. The woman mentioned how she couldn’t believe her benefits had lowered. Her neighbor told her to talk to Carlos, who then handed her a flyer and told her to visit our office.

The woman came right over and waited for me to resolve her issue. I prescreened her and realized that on her last redetermination she forgot to check off the fact that she paid extra in her rent for using an air conditioner. I called her worker at DSS and faxed him the landlord’s letter which increased her benefits from $14 to $146 per month.

This is a perfect example of how and why successful outreach really works—and it happens every day!