Responding to an urgent need, Robin Hood teamed up with the Met Council and Google engineers to develop a web-based eligibility screening tool for Hurricane Sandy Relief: www.finddisasterhelp.com. Designed to be used by both the victims of Hurricane Sandy and the case workers that aid them, the tool asks several questions about the individual’s current situation in the wake of the hurricane, and uses those answers to provide a list of benefits that the individual is likely to be eligible for—along with links to online applications. Additionally, the assessment tool offers links to aid resource sites like Single Stop, a Robin Hood grantee that is providing public benefits, legal and financial assistance counseling to people affected by the storm.
In serving the hungry, there often is a lot more than can be done improve their lives beyond handing out food. This story from the West Side Campaign Against Hunger (WSCAH), a Robin Hood funded program, is a great example of how many issues can be addressed once a person is connected to the right services.
Esmeralda Perez is a Single Stop caseworker who meets with visitors onsite at WSCAH. Here is her account of a recent meeting with Maribel:
Maribel is a 38-year-old single mother of two small sons. In August 2009, as a legal resident, she came to the United States from the Dominican Republic without her children. In May 2012 she was able to bring her boys to live here with her. She works as a child care provider but her income isn’t big enough to meet the food needs of her family. A friend told her about WSCAH’s food pantry and food stamp enrollment program. On her first visit, WSCAH screened her and found her eligible for food stamps. Maribel had never applied for benefits before because she had been misinformed that her children needed social security numbers first—which she thought she couldn’t apply for until their residency papers were complete. WSCAH let her know her that her children could apply for the benefit with passports stamped as permanent residents.
She came back to WSCAH in late July with all necessary documentation for her food stamp application. Not only that, she received the papers she needed to apply successfully for social security numbers for her children.
A week later Maribel received notice from the New York City Human Resources Administration that she will receive a monthly food stamp benefit of $367.
She was ecstatic about having this help feeding her children. WSCAH’s next step is applying for health insurance for her sons.
Thanks to WSCAH, Single Stop and Esmeralda, one less family goes hungry in New York City.
RH Unplugged Series: March 15 - Single Stop
Last week’s Unplugged breakfast, an informal conversation about Robin Hood’s poverty fighting approach, featured Michael Weinstein, the head of our Programs department.
Michael provided an in depth overview of Single Stop – a Robin Hood program that reduces poverty by connection folks to public benefits and to free legal counsel, financial assistance and access to a social worker all in one location.
The idea for Single Stop was formed by Michael in the 1970s with a program run out of a church basement in Philadelphia that served as a place for community members to receive financial, insurance and tax advice. It has since grown into a national organization with more than 80 sites in New York City as well as locations in 7 other states. Last year alone, Single Stop helped more than 120,000 low-income New Yorkers receive roughly $250 million in benefits to help them stabilize their financial, educational, vocational and health prospects in the hopes of eventually leaving poverty behind.
Up next in the Unplugged breakfast series – “What Makes a Great Teacher” featuring Norm Atkins, co-founder the Relay Graduate School of Education, the most advanced and innovative program designed to train teachers to become more inspiring and effective in the classroom.
