FAIRMOUNT, N.Y. (WSYR) — Last month, Jeff Knauss, a Central New York entrepreneur, stepped up in a big way to help those who would not see their SNAP benefits replenished at the start of November. The Paul family was one of over 1,000 people who will now receive a $150 Wegmans gift card from the fundraiser Knauss started.
In 2014, genetic testing revealed to Christina Paul that her daughter, Hannah Monét, has Spinocerebellar Ataxia Autosomal Recessive 9, known as SCAR9. Monét was the first case discovered in the United States.
Since then, it has been a challenging road for the pair as Monét struggles with autism and the side effects of the rare disease, such as epilepsy and developmental delays. But now, the loss of SNAP benefits at the beginning of the month made an already difficult task of feeding Monét even harder (Gov. Hochul ordered state agencies today to issue full SNAP benefits in lieu of the federal program)…