Wharton and Galveston county residents wait in line for hours for D-SNAP benefits

Monday, October 9, 2017
D-SNAP lines in Wharton and Galveston counties
People waited in long lines to apply for emergency state D-SNAP benefits in Wharton and Galveston counties. The good news was the lines moved quickly Monday.

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- People waited in long lines to apply for emergency state D-SNAP benefits in Wharton and Galveston counties. The good news was the lines moved quickly Monday.

Many people waited in line in League City since late Sunday night in order to be one of the first to apply when the doors opened this morning.

The dozens of people who waited through the night quickly grew into hundreds.

Keri Bouquet Hayden waited in line since 4 a.m. Monday.

While she waited, she was able to show ABC13 what she's been through the past month and a half since Hurricane Harvey.

Her home was flooded with ankle-deep water and it was even deeper outside.

In recent weeks the single mom put her kids to work helping with the cleanup.

They cut out the drywall and dried everything out. Still, she's been unable to cook in her house for six weeks and has little money to feed her kids.

"I still haven't seen FEMA, so I'm still waiting on FEMA. And basically, I'm going to start with this and go on with my life," said Hayden.

When the doors to the D-SNAP help center opened up in League City, hundreds of people were allowed in.

It only took about 25 minutes to see Hayden back outside.

"They gave me a card and told me to call to see what benefits. Then I can go shopping," said Hayden.

She's still not clear how much relief she will get. The amount is determined by several factors, including how much was lost in the flood, household income, and the number of people in the home.

"It just puts us in a better situation of being able to cook at home and get through life," said Hayden.

One thing that helped keep the line short is that Galveston and Wharton counties have staggered the amount of people they will help using the first letter of their last name. Below is the schedule for the rest of the week.

Galveston County Residents:

League City Plaza

176 Gulf Freeway South

Date Last name

Oct. 9 A - C

Oct. 10 D - H

Oct. 11 I - M

Oct. 12 N - R

Oct. 13 S - Z

Oct. 14 to 15 Anyone

Wharton County Residents:

Wharton Civic Center

1924 N. Fulton St.

Date Last name

Oct. 9 A - C

Oct. 10 D - H

Oct. 11 I - M

Oct. 12 N - R

Oct. 13 S - Z

Oct. 14 to 15 Anyone

Locations are open each day from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Montgomery County residents will be able to apply for D-SNAP benefits October 16 - 20 at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds.

You must apply for benefits in your county.

You can find the latest information on D-SNAP's website.

Follow Foti Kallergis on Twitter and Facebook.

RELATED: 'Disaster SNAP' open to people affected by Hurricane Harvey

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