Empowerment and Advocacy Led to CalFresh Enrollment + General Relief
Jessica, a Family Services Coordinator at St. Louise Resource Services (StLRS) met A.F. at a community event. As Jessica provided information about StLRS services, A.F. shared how overwhelmed he felt applying for CalFresh benefits with a government agency because of the amount of paperwork and complex process, which led him to give up on his application. This was amplified by his medical condition which prevented him from returning to work. Furthermore, A.F. faced the possibility of becoming homeless and relied on food distributions and loans from family members to sustain himself.
Realizing that she needed to treat the case with urgency and priority due to his situation, Jessica quickly followed up with the government agency to advocate for A.F.’s pending case. Unfortunately, after many attempts, Jessica lost contact with A.F., and this became a huge challenge for his case. The following month, A.F. reached out again explaining the hardships he faced that prevented him from staying in touch. To avoid potentially losing contact again, Jessica helped him with an over-the-phone application. Through the process, she identified that A.F. also qualified for General Relief. A.F. became motivated and empowered to process his case when Jessica offered to upload the pending paperwork. The application for both programs was successfully submitted, and the interview was completed that same day.
Thanks to Jessica’s persistence, diligence, and dedication, the case was approved. A.F. was extremely thankful for StLRS’ assistance and overall approach. Being able to identify that A.F. qualified for multiple assistance programs significantly improved his situation. Because of StLRS’ wraparound services, Jessica was able to connect A.F. to multiple programs at once in a short period. StLRS’ assistance also allowed A.F. to avoid homelessness. Jessica plans to follow up with A.F. within six (6) months of the application submission date to help with his renewal.