OKDHS Provides SNAP Disaster Assistance for Tornado Victims

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Department of Human Services (OKDHS) is providing emergency disaster food benefits to households affected by the severe storms and tornadoes that hit central Oklahoma May 18-20, 2013.

The five counties approved are Cleveland, Lincoln, McClain, Oklahoma and Pottawatomie.

Disaster SNAP (D-SNAP) applications are being accepted in all OKDHS county offices from 8 a.m. Thursday, May 30, through close of business Wednesday, June 5—for five business days only.  Any household that resided within one of the designated counties at the time of the May 18-20 severe storms and tornadoes and suffered disaster losses may be eligible to receive temporary D-SNAP assistance.

Each household must confirm they experienced one of the following events in the affected counties:

• Damage to or destruction of home or self-employment business due to the disaster, or
  
• Disaster-related expenses not expected to be reimbursed during the disaster period, or
  
• Loss or reduction of income, or
  
• Inaccessibility of liquid resources.

Current SNAP recipients in the affected counties must complete an affidavit indicating they were affected by the storms.  Other households not currently receiving SNAP are also encouraged to apply. 

During disasters such as this, eligibility requirements are reduced, and benefits can be maximized.  Unlike the regular SNAP program which uses gross income to determine eligibility, D-SNAP uses take-home pay, as well as disaster-related expenses the homeowner may incur.  Once the household meets the income test, they are eligible for the maximum food benefit for their household size.

Applicants must verify their identity through a photo ID, a signed affidavit from a collateral contact attesting to the identity of the applicant, or two documents that verify identity and residency.  Applicants should also be able and prepared to provide a specific list of disaster-related damages they incurred as a result of the storms.

Households applying for D-SNAP must have actually lived in the disaster area at the time of the storms and must have suffered damages or loss.

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