HOLYOKE — Seniors in the commonwealth now have a resource just for them to help navigate the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
State officials were in Holyoke last Thursday to officially open the Department of Transitional Assistance’s Senior Assistance Office, which gives the state’s older residents access to specially trained staff to improve their experience using the so-called SNAP benefits. It is believed to be the first of its kind not only in the state but also the country, state officials said.
“Many Massachusetts seniors are living very active lives well beyond their retirement age and providing them with pertinent information about available resources is important to us,” Gov. Charlie Baker said in a statement.
Seniors are able to access the help through a new SNAP senior assistance line — 833-712-8027 — which includes direct access to a case manager without requiring the use of automated prompts.
Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, Health and Human Services Secretary Marylou Sudders, DTA Commissioner Jeff McCue and state Rep. Brian M. Ashe were on hand for the opening ceremony as well as Senior Assistance Office and numerous department employees.
Touring the office, Polito shook hands with employees and inquired on how long they had been with the department. Speaking to the group, Polito said they were part of the safety net that helped the state’s seniors. Ashe, who serves the 2nd Hampden District, called the office a bipartisan example of doing what is right.
“How you treat, how you respect and how your act toward your elders is how you act as a society,” Ashe said.
As part of the creation of the new office, some DTA employees were transferred to the new positions and about eight people from outside the agency were hired for it, according to McCue.
A Chelsea location was considered for the new office but McCue said there wasn’t the same enthusiasm as he found in Holyoke and surrounding communities. Work began in the new office at the beginning of the year but due to varying schedules and inclement weather, the grand opening didn’t happen until June. Since the beginning of the year, the office has processed more than 2,400 applications from seniors across the state.
In addition to the creation of the office, the department also created a Senior Working Group tasked with determining how to best serve SNAP seniors and enhance access to benefits, which included the creation of a simplified SNAP application.
In Massachusetts, one in every nine people receive SNAP benefits, including seniors, working families, children and people with disabilities, according to the governor’s office. Of all SNAP households in the state, 72 percent earn less than the federal poverty limit — or $24,300 for a household of four.