Save General Assistance!

By MB -
From our friends at PA Cares for All and The Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania:

Rep. Murt (R-Montgomery Co) has filed Amendment 12224 to the budget bill
(SB 1466 PN 2261). This amendment will partially restore General
Assistance, a last-resort program that provides a critical bridge to
stability and self-sufficiency for 70,000 Pennsylvanians.
Under the amendment, the General Assistance program will be reformed,
saving Pennsylvania over $108 million per year by eliminating
eligibility for Pennsylvanians whose disabilities are projected to last
less than 12 months. It will preserve General Assistance for
* domestic violence survivors (for 9 months in one's lifetime)
* children being cared for by non-relatives
* people with more serious disabilities and illnesses who are waiting
for a decision on their SSI or SSDI application from the Social Security
Administration
* people who are actively enrolled in drug & alcohol treatment
programs (for 9 months in one's lifetime).
If this amendment fails concerning the General Assistance program, which
was created during the depths of the Great Depression to provide a
hand-up to our most vulnerable Pennsylvanians, will be eliminated. And
General Assistance recipients will not simply vanish. They will flood
shelters, soup kitchens, churches and other houses of worship, and
overwhelm our human service providers. In the end, eliminating General
Assistance will cost far more than it will save.
Please contact your House member by phone or email. Use the first action item (Urge your House Member to Vote yes on Amendment 12224 to SB 1466 PN 2261 ).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overlooked and Undercounted: Struggling to Make Ends Meet in Pennsylvania

By -
Image
Census data tells us that 13% of Pennsylvania households live in poverty. In reality, even more households don’t have the income they need to reach self-sufficiency. One in four Pennsylvania households – over 846,000 – lack enough income to cover just the necessities. Since 1997, PathWays PA has worked with Dr. Diana Pearce and the University of Washington to calculate  The Self-Sufficiency Standard for Pennsylvania . Over the last 23 years,  The Self-Sufficiency Standard of Pennsylvania  has documented the continuing increase in the real cost of living, illuminating the economic crunch experienced by so many families today. Since 2010, PathWays PA and the University of Washington have also issued three versions of the  Overlooked and Undercounted  report, which looks at the number of households living above and below self-sufficiency. You can now use the interactive materials below to find out what it takes to be self-sufficient in your county. Click here  to read the 2020 O
Read more

Mini-Budget Update-Supporting the American Community Survey

By MB -
Image
(via The Census Project ) Next Tuesday, June 19 is an important date to mark on your calendar. The Congressional Joint Economic Committee is holding a public hearing on the economic impact of eliminating the American Community Survey (ACS) at 2:30 p.m., in Room 210 of the Canon House Office Building. Witnesses that will be speaking in opposition to the move to eliminate the ACS are Vincent Barabba, former director of the Census Bureau in two GOP administrations and Ken Simonson, chief economist for the Association of General Contractors and also representing the National Association of Business Economists. It is very important that we pack the congressional hearing room! If you cannot come, please urge your colleages to come. If you represent a non-DC organization contact your friends in Washington and urge them to attend. Also on Tuesday of next week some of our congressional supporters will be holding a noon press conference in the so-called House Triangle right outside the Cap
Read more

Overlooked and Undercounted in the Media (#media)

By MB -
Image
Below are all of the places we've seen Overlooked and Undercounted in the month of May! If you know of anywhere else, please let us know! You can also listen to the audio from our May 11 Conference Call on our website . May 21, 2009 - New Report Says 1 in 5 PA Families Live in Poverty May 21, 2009 - LTE: Clarifying ‘Overlooked And Undercounted’ Study May 19, 2009 - Caught in a trap: State and federal governments must help working poor May 16, 2009 - Study: Local poverty estimates too conservative May 15, 2009 - Study: Pa. Families Above Poverty Level, But Still Struggling May 12, 2009 - Study: 1 in 5 PA Families Struggling to Make Ends Meet May 12, 2009 - Report: Many PA families struggling May 12, 2009 - PathWays PA Releases New Report on Self-Sufficiency Standard May 12, 2009 - Poverty worse in PA than reported: study May 11, 2009 - 1 in 5 PA Households Can't Make Ends Meet May 11, 2009 - Study: 1 in 5 PA residents can't make ends meet May 11, 2009 - 1 in
Read more