Tens of thousands of flood survivors apply for food stamp assistance

Alison Mann and her mother were two of tens of thousands of people who poured into the Word of God Church and Ministries in Columbia this week seeking food-stamp assistance.

Mann, 51, said money has been tight since Oct. 4, when historic rains and floods swept through the Midlands. She said Thursday she will never forget how water seeped through the ceiling of their home and got seemingly everywhere.

They lost water and had to scoop rainwater from ditches outside to flush their toilets, she said. And now mold and mildew have grown in the home as they wait on repairs that can’t start until it is checked for asbestos, said Mann and her 81-year-old mother, June Smith, who is visually impaired.

Total repairs, including replacing sheetrock, their ceiling and the damaged roof, come to about $4,500, they said. And because Mann couldn’t get to work after the flooding, “everything’s really tight,” she said.

Like thousands of other Richland County residents this week, Mann and her mother came to the church to apply for federal Disaster Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program aid.

The program is for people who lost property or income during the flooding in October, said state Department of Social Services spokeswoman Marilyn Matheus. That included people whose homes weren’t flooded but who perhaps weren’t able to go to work because their place of work was closed for several days or cut off by damaged roads.

They represented the hidden costs of the flood.

“We don’t usually ask anyone for anything,” Mann said.

“I’ve never had food stamps, ever,” her mother chimed in, looking around as they waited in a large area with hundreds of other applicants. “I’ve never seen so many people in all my life.”

Amounts awarded depend on household size.

Karama Bailey, DSS Economic Services County Operations Division director, said the Richland County site is the largest of four in the state this week. Nearly 4,000 people had come through by early Thursday afternoon, and about 18,000 came to the church in the three days before that, she said. The last day to apply is Friday.

Lines moved swiftly Thursday, with people getting in and out in about an hour, she said. The line Thursday morning at one point snaked outside the church, around a parking lot and to Dutch Square mall, she said. Cars filled most of the church’s parking lot on Thursday, and many people parked at the mall.

State troopers directed traffic so applicants could cross Dutch Square Boulevard to get to the church. There, they met with a staff of 120 interviewers who walked applicants through their requests, approving some and turning away others.

People who could prove they had lost property or income because of October’s flooding could receive hundreds in food assistance. An individual could get nearly $200 in food stamps, and a two-person household could get a little more than $350, Matheus said.

That was the case for Fevi Madrid, 25, who received more than $350 to help support herself and her 4-year-old son. Madrid said she was out of a job for more than three weeks because the flooding temporarily shuttered the restaurant where she worked.

Madrid said her friends helped her financially and with finding a new job but that missing weeks of work was a big blow. “It was a lot to handle,” Madrid said. “It’s frustrating.”

For many, the food stamps wouldn’t replace property, furniture or keepsakes lost to the flood. But having a little extra money to pay for groceries could make a tough time a little easier, some said.

Tracy DelSignore, 40, said she missed work for a week and two days after the flooding. She said she is “very grateful” she was approved for D-SNAP aid that will pay for groceries as she focuses on paying her bills.

Daisy Locke, 66, said her roof needs replacing and that her storage shed flooded during the rains, ruining her lawnmower. She said she estimates the flood will cost her thousands in repairs and replacements. She said she learned about D-SNAP aid on the news Tuesday and decided Wednesday to apply.

“I looked in the fridge yesterday and said, ‘Oh, where’s all the food?’ And the money’s gone too,” Locke said. “So I came out here to see if I could get a couple of dollars for food.”

Some people came Thursday to help others.

Kathy Merritt, 53, said she takes care of elderly people for a living and that she brought four of them to the church to apply. Some of their homes flooded during the storm, Merritt said as she waited in the lobby.

“I’ll get my blessing down the road one of these days, but right now, all these people need help,” Merritt said. “This is nice. I like this. A little gas ain’t gonna kill nobody.”

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 7:52 PM with the headline "Tens of thousands of flood survivors apply for food stamp assistance."