Agency completes distribution of windstorm assistance

Oct. 20, 2008 -- The Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services has successfully completed its distribution of windstorm assistance to the majority of Hamilton County families and elderly or disabled residents who were approved for emergency aid.  

 
The funding received from the state to help victims of the Sept. 14 windstorm was distributed in gift cards for groceries. Families received $100 and disabled or elderly residents received $50.
 
The agency received 11,394 unduplicated applications for emergency assistance. Of those, 7,687 met eligibility requirements (income below 200 percent of poverty and either a child under 18 in the home, or a disabled or elderly head of household).
 
“Unfortunately, we were not able to help everyone because of the limited funding we had available, but we still approved more than 2,900 requests for assistance,” Agency Director Moira Weir said. “I cannot tell you how many people I met personally who thanked us for helping them when they were in need. They were extremely grateful.”
 
While requests were varied, most applicants requested assistance with food lost because of the power outage following the storm. In addition to the emergency assistance, HCJFS also helped 23,000 food stamp recipients replace their food lost in the storm by replacing their monthly food stamp allowance. 

A small number of those who were approved for assistance were unable to pick up their gift cards at the allotted times. HCJFS will reach out to them to determine the best way to distribute the cards. 

Agency to give gift cards to about 2,900 windstorm victims

Oct. 8, 2008 (Update of Oct. 7 info) --  The Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services will distribute about 2,900 Kroger gift cards for windstorm relief, Oct. 16-18, at 237 William H. Taft Road. (Use employee entrance at rear of building. Bring approval letter.)

Approval and denial letters are being mailed this week to more than 12,000 applicants.

About 2,000 families and 900 aged or disabled are being notified that they can pick up a gift card -- $100 maximum for a family; $50 for an aged or disabled individual.

The state asked the agency to stay within strict guidelines and make the assistance available to only those whose incomes were at or below 200 percent of the poverty level with one of the following:

* Age 55 or older
* Disabled
* A parent of a child under 18 living in the home

About 12,700 applications were received. Because of the limited amount of funding that was available, some very tough decisions were required to determine how the funds would be distributed. Applications were prioritized using this criteria:

* Families with disabled children
* Families with household sizes greater than four persons
* Clients over 55 years of age with disabilities
* Clients older than 70 years old

Thousands apply for windstorm emergency assistance

Oct. 2, 2008 -- Hundreds of miles away from Cincinnati, Hurricane Ike destroyed whole neighborhoods, leaving nothing but piles of wood and siding in his aftermath. Cincinnati, not known for its hurricane-related weather disasters, also felt Ike's aftermath.

On Sept. 14, electrical power went out for thousands of residents. Many, including Hamilton County Department of Job and Family Services employees and clients, were without power for days, which in turn, meant refrigerated food was lost for many.

But even as JFS employees were dealing with their own clean-up, they stepped up to the plate to help thousands of agency consumers.

“As I walked through the building last week, I felt a sense of pride,” Director Moira Weir said. “And as I stood outside and watched consumer after consumer come up and ask for emergency assistance, I saw our employees answer their questions with patience and understanding. This was a unique situation and our employees didn’t hesitate to jump in and help where they were needed.”

At last count, the agency received more than 23,000 applications for replacement food stamp and more than 12,000 for emergency assistance because of the windstorm.

“That’s an extreme amount of applications for our employees to handle, while they continue to do their daily duties,” Weir said. “But I have no doubt that employees will dot every ‘i’ and cross every ‘t’ to make sure the families involved with our agency receive the proper emergency assistance.”

Weir said seeing employees come together made her realize “once again how grateful I am to work with such extraordinary people.”

“I saw Family & Adult Assistance employees going above and beyond to make sure all of the clients were assisted, even if it meant working into the weekend,” she said. “I saw employees in the Direct Client Contact Unit and the Document Drop-off Center working efficiently to make sure clients turned in the proper documents. I also saw employees in other sections of the agency who took time away from their daily duties to help the FAA workers with the additional consumers coming in for emergency assistance.

“Because of the willingness of so many agency employees during this time of need, we were able to achieve the agency’s main goal – serving our clients in the most effective and efficient way possible,” she continued. “I truly appreciate employees’ hard work and enthusiasm that I see as I walk through agency buildings every day.”

 

Approval or denial letters for those who applied for PRC emergency assistance because of the Sept. 14 windstorm will begin going out the week of Oct. 6.

Those wanting to know about food stamp replacement should  check their balance by calling 1-866-386-3071.