KNOXVILLE, Tenn. ( WATE ) — As thousands of food stamp recipients are waiting to have their benefits restored, a cancer survivor and her disabled daughter from Knoxville are still struggling to get their benefits back after they were cut off in November.
The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) reported that it has been reaching out to people who lost their food stamps because of a change to a new benefits management system last summer.
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Heather Hensley has Crohn’s disease, diabetes, and heart issues and is unable to work. Her mother, Roxie Hensley is a cancer survivor and unable to work. They both draw social security disability and food stamps until recently when their SNAP benefits were cut off in November.
“We’ve been getting them for seven and a half years. I’ve never had a problem because I stay on top of that. We never went a month without them until November the 8th,” Heather Hensley said.
Heather said she was supposed to get a call from Knoxville’s Human Services office regarding her recertification and her mother’s. She has her phone with her all the time. The call never came. So, she went to the office on Middlebrook Pike and was told the process could take months.