Welfare and food stamps don’t stretch very far; food stamps provide an average of $1 a meal per person, and the cash grant from welfare hasn’t been raised since 1987, topping out at $322 a month for a parent with two children.
Food stamp applications doubled and welfare applications rose 40 percent in October; Includes a slice of the middle class
As if we were not aware of the rapidly rising tide of families and individuals at risk of homelessness, the Star-Ledger confirmed the news in a front page article on Sunday January 4, 2009’s New Jersey Section. The article – Applications for welfare, food stamps are way up – highlighted a problem that is all too familiar. To read the full article click here.
The Rev. Bruce Davidson, a member of the Advocacy Network’s Steering Committee and the director of the Lutheran Office of Governmental Ministry, noted the tension between the “the working poor and people trying to get off public assistance.” He is quoted as saying: “The October numbers relate at some level to the whole fact there is unemployment in the state. Because of that, people who are working lower- or middle-income jobs are sometimes taking employment opportunities from those trying to go from welfare to work. That means there are fewer lower-paying jobs available; they don’t find anything, so they go on welfare.”
Connie Mercer Executive Director of HomeFront is quoted as well on the middle income impact of the increased demand. She stated that “each and every week, we have some people come in who want us to know they were donors last year and they never thought they would be in this position.”
To read the full article click here.
This article is another example of why we need to be bold and effective in our efforts to end homelessness in New Jersey.
