Women’s sober house on North Shore bracing for loss of SNAP benefits

REVERE, Mass. — In Revere, a women’s sober house is paying very close attention to the federal government shutdown.

If nothing changes to break the political stalemate on Capitol Hill, SNAP benefits for more than a million Massachusetts residents will expire.

At Kathy’s Place Sober House, they are doing everything they can to keep their shelves stocked with food.

It’s not easy.

The eight women in recovery who are staying here all depend on their SNAP benefits to fill these shelves.

If the SNAP program expires Saturday, these women will lose their food benefits.

Marisa Capone-Todisco is the owner of Todisco Sober Homes, which owns Kathy’s Place.

She can’t believe that if nothing changes, her residents will be cut off from their food benefits.

“I don’t know if I’m angry, but I’m shocked,” Capone-Todisco said. “We’re talking about vulnerable people and a vulnerable population who are already experiencing hardships as it is. And having to stay clean and sober, which is the primary focus. This is just a huge, huge bump in the road for them.”

Nicole Tumbiolo is a resident and house manager at Kathy’s Place.

“I think every single one of us has SNAP benefits. So, if we lose that, we lose the food,” Tumbiolo said.

Nicole has been struggling to overcome addiction for 12 years.

She is four months sober.

She’s concerned about the impact losing SNAP benefits could have on her progress.

“I have tried to train my brain back out of street survival, into (becoming) a productive member of society. It’s scary thinking of going back into survival mode,” Tumbiolo said.

Marissa Capone-Todisco is looking for solutions.

She is appealing to the public for help with food donations.

And people are responding.

She hopes politicians will too.

“We have a lot of smart people. We need to put our thinking caps on and get it together because you are playing with people’s lives, and it’s starting to be a very scary place and time to be alive,” she said.

Saturday’s deadline is coming up fast

At Kathy’s place, they are finding a way to manage.

But they are hoping cooler heads will prevail in Washington.

If you would like to donate, contact Kathy’s place at TodiscoSoberHomes@gmail.com.

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