San Jose – Santa Clara County officials announced Tuesday the arrival of a food stamps pilot project to deliver benefits to chronically homeless applicants within three days.
Additionally, the program delivers food stamps to the working poor within three weeks and eliminates face-to-face office visits.
Normally, the wait for food stamps takes four-to-six weeks in California, requiring multiple trips to social services providers. The bureaucratic process discourages many people who lack transportation and time off from work, according to county officials. Across the state, only 45 percent of eligible residents receive food stamps. In Santa Clara County, only 42 percent of the homeless population receives government assistance, according to a 2004 homeless census and survey that found 7,600 people are living without shelter on any given night.
“In this pilot project we will eliminate multiple office visits and other barriers that prevent eligible people from obtaining benefits they are qualified to receive,” said Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage. “When individuals and families are hungry, four-to-six weeks is much too long for them to wait for assistance.”
The pilot project allows 100 homeless individuals to receive hardship waivers at four designated non-profit organizations, including St. Joseph’s Family Center in Gilroy. The waivers allow the applicants to get food stamps within three days without making additional trips to social services offices. The program also allows low-income families to interview by phone for benefits so applicants don’t miss work. The application process for the working poor will be shortened to three weeks.
“Food stamps are a critical support for working poor families trying to make ends meet in our high-cost county,” said Will Lightbourne, director of the Santa Clara County Social Services Agency. “We will be carefully monitoring this project and hope to be able to expand it further at an appropriate time.”
