Utah budget cuts may crush hopes of independent living

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

For the first time in years, Trina Russom (pictured) has hope for a more stable future.

But with harsh state budget cuts pending, Russom's dreams of independent living, working a job and furthering her education could quickly evaporate, sending her back to a life of subsistence on the streets.

After ending a 25-year marriage, the now 47-year-old mother of three grown children wrestled with alcohol abuse, domestic violence, post-traumatic stress disorder and a four-year stint of homelessness.

Since February 2008, Russom has occupied one of the 84 studio apartments at South Salt Lake's Grace Mary Manor -- units built specifically for individuals who have been homeless for at least a year.

Russom, who survives on $261 a month from state General Assistance (GA) funds, recently obtained a Section 8 voucher for a subsidized one-bedroom apartment in Taylorsville. After she moves, Russom plans to find work and complete her high school education.

About 1,300 temporarily or permanently disabled Utahns receive GA benefits each month. Current policy allows them to utilize the benefit for 24 months within a five-year period.

According to William Greer, chief financial officer for Utah's Department of Workforce Services, the $7 million General Assistance budget is slated for deep cuts that would pare the 24 months down to 10. DWS also could lose 75 full-time employees due to a $1.2 million cut to its personnel budget -- at a time when case loads are on the rise.

"Right now General Assistance and personnel reduction top their list," Greer said of cuts recommended by the Commerce and Workforce Services Appropriations subcommittee.

"We're trying to do all we can to preserve the benefits to our clients," Greer said, noting that the $261 per month enables them to qualify for subsidized housing and also afford medicaid co-payments.

Dana Smith, (pictured) also a Grace Mary Manor resident, hopes that Greer succeeds.

The 40-year-old Murray native injured his back in a car accident at age 15, leaving him with a permanent disability. A DWS caseworker will help him apply for Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) -- GA benefits serve as a stop-gap measure for those who qualify for SSDI -- but that can take six months to a year to process.

"If they cut GA, I'll only have a couple of months left," Smith said. "I'm not sure what I'll do -- possibly borrow from friends, donate plasma and collect cans along the side of the road."

Steve Erickson, a consultant for the non-profit Crossroads Urban Center, hopes to see the state's GA funds fully replenished.

"These are 1,300 of the state's most vulnerable," Erickson said of GA recipients. "Sixty-three percent of them will eventually receive long-term disability and are unable to work."

Most are single males, Erickson said, some disabled due to PTSD, a mental condition or physical disability.

Erickson knows enough to be deeply concerned about how the budget axe would fall.

"If [someone] is at month 10 and the cut is implemented, [they'll] be on the street after month 11," he said.