By VICKI URBANIK

Disaster assistance centers that were set up last week in Northwest Indiana have been so overwhelmed with applications for emergency food stamps that there have been times that people seeking help have been cut off.

Lauren Auld, director of media relations for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, said that the six Northwest Indiana disaster centers have taken about 14,000 food stamp applications through Monday. The staff has been working late into the night -- sometimes until 11 p.m. -- processing all the applications.

“We’ve been seeing large crowds (for the emergency food stamps),” she said. “We are trying to fill the demand,” she said.

But to one local resident who has sought help, the state has let people down.

Robbie Foreman of Chesterton said he has gone to the Valparaiso center on Saturday and Monday and couldn’t get assistance. He said he got to the disaster center at about 10:30 a.m. Monday and was told that no more applications were being taken. This morning, he said he was told that the applications would again be cut off in mid-morning. When he went on Saturday, the office was closed, he said.

Foreman said it’s not fair that people are making the drive to Valparaiso, only to learn they can’t get help, even though the state has put out press releases saying that the disaster centers would be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. through tomorrow for the aid, including the temporary food stamps.

“If you’re going to cut people off, just make that known to people,” said Foreman, who has called and emailed state officials with his concerns.

Auld said although Foreman is correct in saying that there have been cut-offs in the food stamp assistance, the Valparaiso center was open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. as publicized on Saturday. “I can assure you that it was indeed open,” she said.

Auld also said the Valparaiso office was still accepting food stamp applications by late this morning. However, she confirmed there have been cut-offs on other days. For example, the Gary office cut off applications at around 3 or 4 p.m. on Monday due to the high demand.

The FSSA is focusing on customer service, and doesn’t want to see people have to wait in lines if it knows that they won’t end up getting served, she said. The FSSA has more than 10 percent of its workforce stationed at the Northwest Indiana offices to handle all the requests.

On the other hand, she said the LaPorte office is not experiencing a wait for help, so Porter County residents could go there if they want to.

The state announced last week that six disaster assistance centers would open in Northwest Indiana to assist flood victims and that these centers would open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. These centers are located in Lake Station, Gary, Munster, Michigan City, LaPorte and Valparaiso. The Valparaiso center is at the Family and Social Services Administration Office at 152 Indiana Ave.

Families seeking the emergency food stamps have through tomorrow to make an application at one of the centers. However, the FSSA and the Federal Emergency Management Administration will continue to provide other services at the centers after tomorrow.

Posted 9/30/2008