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Advocates and Lawmakers Call for Increase in State Cash Assistance Programs
Albany NY – Advocates and lawmakers highlighted the need to increase the amounts recipients receive through New York’s cash assistance programs, notably calling for the inclusion of bills to increase the Basic Needs grant (S.5270A Persaud / A.5500 Rosenthal) and the personal needs grant (S.8655 Cleare / A.5507 Rosenthal) in the budget. These grants have not been increased since 2012 and 1997, respectively.
“Poverty has been too prevalent in our communities, and this must end. The lack of access to reasonable and adequate public assistance has forced people to struggle daily in order to obtain food and basic needs for themselves and their families. I stand here today to call for a raise in public assistance which will be a significant step forward to end poverty in our State,” said Maritza Davila, Chair of the Assembly Social Services Committee.
“New York’s cash assistance program was designed to help lift people out of poverty, but some grants have not been increased since the days before we had access to the internet,” said Assemblymember Linda B. Rosenthal (D/WF – Manhattan), chair of the Assembly Committee on Housing. “Over the last year alone, the cost of living has risen exponentially. Yet, shockingly, New York’s most vulnerable residents continue to receive 1980-level grants to cover utility costs, and 2012-level grants to meet their basic needs. Keeping cash assistance grants perilously low does not give anyone the support necessary to escape poverty. I am proud to sponsor legislation to finally raise these grant levels to account for inflation and I will be pushing to include them in this year’s state budget.”
“New York’s public assistance basic needs grant continues to fall far short of actually helping to sustain our most vulnerable neighbors. S.5270 would provide a significant increase to the public assistance grant for the first time since 2012. Further, home energy and supplemental home energy grants would increase for the first time since the 1980s. Every single New Yorker has been impacted by inflation; those with the least among us are crushed by rising prices from everyday essential items to home energy costs,” said Senator Roxanne J. Persaud, Chair of the Senate Social Services Committee.
“The impact of inflation hits marginalized populations especially hard,” said Assembly Member Harvey Epstein. “Folks on temporary assistance, who are already struggling to make ends meet, have not had their assistance adjusted for inflation since 2012. We must pass A.5500 (Rosenthal) and A.5507 (Rosenthal) to increase cash assistance, empowering individuals and helping families meet their basic needs and build a brighter future.”
“The way to end poverty is to support people with comprehensive wrap-around services, stable housing and employment and direct financial assistance. Our current miserly and unwise approach barely allows people enough money to purchase a winter coat or bus fare and have anything left over for food or medicine. The current situation is unacceptable and must change as a moral and policy imperative,” said Senator Cleare, Chair of the Senate Committee on Aging.
Assistance for basic needs is designed to help people on public assistance pay for necessities like clothing, diapers, hygiene products, over the counter medication, and transportation. The levels of assistance have not been updated since 2012, and has become woefully inadequate to cover these essential expenses. The result is that a family of three with no other income receiving cash assistance is granted only $389 a month to meet their basic needs, including money for utilities.
The personal needs/special needs grants for which certain homeless New Yorkers are eligible in lieu of regular cash assistance have not been updated since 1997. A family of three is expected to survive on $189 a month for all their cash needs. A single adult is expected to survive on $45 a month, $1.50 a day.
“Policymakers at all levels of government are starting to recognize that increasing the amount of assistance available to people not only reduces poverty but results in increased health and well-being. New York already recognizes that cash assistance is important. The state’s program has been in place for many decades. But when benefits are as low as they are now, people suffer. New York cannot afford to wait to increase these grants,” said Susan Welber, The Legal Aid Society.
“New York State must pass A.5500 / S.5270 and A.5507 / S.8655 to increase cash assistance this year as part of the budget,” said Maria Walles, leader with the Safety Net Activists at the Urban Justice Center. “The amounts that Public Assistance provides are degrading and insulting. Most of the grants haven’t increased in decades, even as inflation, cost of living and prices have skyrocketed. The insultingly low amounts impact my life and other people’s lives every day. I have the Fair Fares card but sometimes I don’t have any funds to put on the MetroCard. Many parents have kids going to school and don’t have the money to buy their kids even the most basic things, including school supplies. And this doesn’t just affect me; it affects more than six hundred thousand people who receive Cash Assistance across New York State. We call on the Assembly, Senate, and Governor to act this year to increase cash assistance so that families across the State can better meet their basic needs.”
“Cash Assistance provides critical support to New Yorkers with the lowest incomes, but the current grant amounts are woefully inadequate and don’t provide enough for New Yorkers to afford basic necessities like food, clothing, household items, or hygiene products. It’s long overdue that the state take action to address this issue, and FPWA urges the legislature to include the increase in Cash Assistance in this year’s budget to help New Yorkers meet their needs,” said Joseph Jones, Director of Policy, Advocacy, and Research at FPWA.
“We have known for years that programs like HASA that have connected people living with HIV/AIDS to benefits like cash assistance are crucial to ending the epidemic. Lessons learned from the fight to end HIV/AIDS has shown us that economic instability contributes to poor physical and mental health outcomes for adults and children. This principle entered our consciousness even further with the onset of COVID-19 where economic insecurity was a significant risk factor for negative health outcomes connected to the pandemic. Cash assistance is an important anti-poverty policy mechanism to alleviate the stress, for better access to healthcare and nutritious food, and a greater ability to cover costs associated with housing, transportation, and education. Increasing cash benefits keeps the value of these benefits from eroding over time due to inflation. Individuals and families face higher costs for food and rent. We must relieve those hardships by passing bills S.5270A/ A.5500 and S.8655 / A.5507,” stated Anthony Feliciano, Vice President for Advocacy at Housing Works.
“With New York City facing its highest ever homelessness rates due to longstanding housing unaffordability and income insecurity, it is clear that current systems and regulations are insufficient for present needs. This includes the present outdated levels of cash assistance for all New Yorkers, which is even lower for those in certain shelters. These limited funds are crucial for daily life essentials like clothing, toiletries, school supplies, and emergencies. The reduction of these cash benefits based on whether a shelter serves meals has no logical basis, as cash assistance funds are not earmarked for food needs. Cash assistance must be increased for New Yorkers in order to provide a greater opportunity for future financial stability for those who need it most,” said Jennifer Quijano, Director, Legal Clinic for the Homeless, City Bar Justice Center.
“Cash assistance levels do not reflect anything close to actual costs. And most individuals and families do not have other income or assets, leaving them with serious gaps in meeting their basic needs. For example, of the households without children, 45% are exempt from work requirements, most often due to illness or disability. When people cannot meet their basic needs, they are more likely to experience housing instability and poorer health outcomes. It is critical that New York increase cash assistance levels now,” said Jessica Radbord, Supervising Senior Attorney at Empire Justice Center.
Advocate attendees included members of the End Poverty Now! Increase Cash Assistance campaign including Urban Justice Center – Safety Net Activists, The Legal Aid Society, Housing Works, FPWA, VOCAL-NY, Empire Justice Center, the City Bar Justice Center, Coalition for the Homeless, the Schuyler Center, and including cash assistance recipients.
