IL - Food stamp deadline for flood victims Friday

Food stamp deadline for flood victims Friday
Comments

September 2, 2010

By KIMBERLY FORNEK kfornek@pioneerlocal.com
More than 1,100 DuPage County households have filed for federal aid to help recover from July's storms, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency report.

As of the end of August, FEMA received 1,153 registrations for federal disaster assistance from DuPage County residents since President Barack Obama declared seven Illinois counties disaster areas Aug. 19, said Kim Anderson, the FEMA external affairs field specialist for DuPage County.

FEMA received a total of 4,599 applications from the seven counties, and completed inspections of 2,176 of those households. As of Aug. 31, the federal government paid out $72.8 million to individuals for housing and other disaster-related needs, Anderson reported.

As of Aug. 31, Cook County had received 38,053 registrations for federal disaster assistance.

Friday will be the final day for people affected by the storms to apply for emergency food stamps.

The Illinois Department of Human Services is offering special disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits for residents of Cook, DuPage and the five other counties declared federal disaster areas.

Applicants must have had damage to their home or business, disaster-related expenses not reimbursed, or loss or reduction of income from July 22 to Aug. 20.

People must apply in person at the DHS/FCRC, or Public Aid Office, at 146 W. Roosevelt Road in Villa Park. Applicants must bring proof of their identity and their residence, or job, in a disaster area at the time of the storms. Immigration status is not a factor.

People not enrolled in the regular SNAP program may qualify for benefits as higher income levels apply. Eligibility is determined at the application interview.

The office is open from 8:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. The deadline to apply is Friday.

For more information, look at the Elmhurst city website, www.elmhurst.org.



http://www.pioneerlocal.com/hinsdale/ne ... s1.article

Immigration status should be a factor since if they are denied aid to their illegal stauts - maybe they will decide to do the right thing and return to their country of origin.