The end of General Assistance

Many people exhaust savings and all financial resources when disabled from work.  Applying for Social Security Disability and SSI disability is a long, slow process that often takes more than a year before any financial help arrives.  For many, that has meant getting General Assistance payments from the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, a program that has provided $205 monthly in Monroe County, without any cost of living increase for many years.  The small, below subsistence payment, has existed since the Great Depression but has been eliminated by the state legislature and Governor Corbett as of August 1, 2012.  About 68,000 people are losing benefits.  They may still be eligible for Medicaid, called “Medical Assistance,” and food stamps.  This is an example of the dismantling the  “safety net” that had been in place in many states to help our most needy and vulnerable citizens.