Help for Working People Christine works as a full-time administrative assistant in a metal factory. With a two-year-old son at home, she came to the pantry for help making ends meet. When Christine met with her West Side Campaign Against Hunger counselor, she said she did not want to apply for food stamps because she had been turned down in the past. We persuaded Christine to try again. Unfortunately she was once again turned down because the Human Resource’s Administration (HRA) claimed she had failed to comply with the fingerprinting requirement. In fact, she had been fingerprinted. When Esmeralda Perez, the West Side Campaign Against Hunger’s Single Stop Public Benefits Counselor, was unable to persuade HRA of the error, our program partner Urban Justice Center filed for a fair hearing with HRA. Urban Justice also told Christine to apply again for Food Stamps because fair hearings can take several months. Christine reapplied. Once again she was denied—this time because HRA wanted documents from the child’s father even though he was absent from the child’s life. Christine had no way to contact him. Esmeralda decided to submit Christine’s case to the HRA Mediation Department to aggressively advocate on the client’s behalf. On December 23, HRA adjusted the application to no longer require the absent father’s information. Christine and her two-year-old received November and December’s Food Stamp benefits on her benefit card. They will now receive $1,680 a year in Food Stamp benefits. Later Christine’s mother came in to apply for Food Stamps. She told Esmeralda that she did not think she would qualify because she owns a home and her husband works. In fact, because of their low family income, Christine’s mother, father and her younger sister qualify for $6,312 in food stamps annually. Thanks to our Single Stop Public Benefits Counselor, the West Side Campaign Against Hunger can help working people like Christine’s family who aren’t earning enough to put food on the table for their families.