SNAP Assistance
SNAP Assistance: Congress Should Change SNAP benefits that Penalize Returning Citizens Who Work
I'm one of the lucky ones. After serving over 20 years in prison, I thought my most vital necessities - food and housing - were lost.
Read the storySNAP Assistance: With reentry support like SNAP benefits, Rubin builds a “solid foundation”
Rubin moved to Albany, NY, from Brooklyn with his mother in 1985. He says he loves the seasons of upstate New York and he is grateful to be close to other family members, such as nieces and nephews he has watched grow up.
Read the storySNAP Assistance: Exclusionary SNAP restrictions hinder Lamar’s success
As the cost of living has risen dramatically around the nation, North Carolina resident Lamar thought he found a solution to help make ends meet: food assistance.
Read the storySNAP Assistance: Jose shares why SNAP benefits are vital for successful reentry
Jose heard about the Center for Employment Opportunities (CEO) while residing at a halfway house in Philadelphia. With a referral from his unit team, he soon began working with a CEO crew cleaning up the streets of Philly, earning daily pay and receiving coaching to pursue the job of his choice. After 24 years of incarceration, he says the most troubling part of reentry was the fear of recidivism.
Read the storySNAP Assistance: The need for consistent SNAP benefits during reentry
Jordan, a Center for Employment Opportunities participant in San Diego, didn't think he'd need access to the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). While transitioning back home, Jordan's sober living facility provided meals. Even if he had been eligible, Jordan didn't want to apply for a benefit he didn't need. But like so many, Jordan was negatively impacted by a SNAP policy that penalizes people for getting employment training.
Read the storySNAP Assistance: How support after incarceration created economic mobility for Joel
Joel was raised in Uptown New Orleans, the youngest of four siblings. Being the “baby boy,” as he calls himself, Joel grew up mostly with just his mother in a “crime-ridden neighborhood.”
Read the storySNAP Assistance: SNAP Benefits offered me the security to focus on my future
“For individuals returning from incarceration,” Christopher says, “financial support is needed immediately. Without my SNAP benefits, I hate to imagine what life would have been like for me coming home. I never want to be in that position of desperation.”
Read the storySNAP Assistance: SNAP offers critical support for returning citizens but improvements are needed
Isaac talks on a cell phone outside of a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL) training center in Detroit, Michigan, during his lunch break. Despite the cold weather, he insists that the fresh air is gladly welcomed. After being incarcerated for over four decades, he is taking the reentry process “day-by-day.” While acknowledging his strong support system of family members, he admits that the transition hasn’t been without its difficulties.
Read the storySNAP Assistance: REVOKED: Just When Things Were Getting Better, I Lost My SNAP Benefits
Jefferson was only 17 years old when he left Rikers Island correctional facility. Upon his release, he lived in a homeless shelter with his children, a situation that lasted for nearly six months. Jefferson’s cousin, an independent contractor, would hire him for construction work whenever there were openings on his crew, but the work was only part-time and intermittent.
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