Mary Holmes wants what all of us want: food, healthcare, and a government that has our back in a pandemic. Yet, she has been put on hold for four to seven hours at a time, without being able to complete a phone interview, which is required to renew her Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits in Missouri.
Mary states: “I am 55 years old and live in St. Louis, Missouri. I am a Black woman. I have throat cancer and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disorder (COPD). My COPD symptoms make it hard for me to leave home. I rely on SNAP to purchase food. I do not have a car or other means of reliable transportation, and I have to pay for rides when I need to leave home. I do not have Internet access. At the beginning of January, I tried to call DSS three times for help. I was not able to reach anyone. I tried to call DSS one last time on February 10, 2022. I answered all of the required questions again and was placed in line. The automated system said that there were 468 people ahead of me. I waited for approximately an hour and a half, and then I hung up because I was almost out of pre-paid phone minutes. I received a notice that my SNAP application was denied in February. Not having SNAP has been really hard. I hardly have any food to eat.”
With our partners, Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and Stinson LLP, we filed a lawsuit yesterday on behalf of Empower Missouri and two low-income Missourians against the state’s Department of Social Services (DSS) and Acting Director Robert Knodell.
The lawsuit alleges:
All SNAP applicants are routed to a central call center, but the call center is drastically understaffed.
Call queues contain hundreds of people. Many SNAP applicants wait for hours only to be disconnected before having a chance to interview.
In September, October, and December of 2021, more than 50% of rejected applications were denied because applicants could not complete an interview.
DSS in-person office operations are insufficient, including limited hours, limited operations, and no COVID-19 safety protocols, even during the delta and omicron waves.
The situation is even worse for people with disabilities. The Americans with Disabilities Act requires DSS to accommodate the disabilities of individuals who need one to access SNAP, but there is no way to request such accommodation without navigating the overloaded call center.
The National Center for Law and Economic Justice advances racial and economic justice through ground-breaking impact litigation, policy advocacy, and support for grassroots organizing. We have provided legal representation and support since 1965.
