Single mothers who rely on Vermont’s “Reach Up” program gathered at the Statehouse on Thursday to give a grim prediction of where they’ll end up if the Legislature goes along with Gov. Peter Shumlin’s proposal to discontinue welfare benefits after three years.
Participants say the proposal will increase homelessness and malnutrition among children.
The slogan of the Valentine’s Day event, organized by Vermont Legal Aid and held next door to Shumlin’s ceremonial office, was “Have a heart.” Current and past recipients of Reach Up, the state’s welfare-to-work program for families with children, have been speaking out in public and testifying at the Statehouse for several weeks now, in an effort to send a message to the Legislature that cutting benefits would destroy a lifeline for single mothers. It’s the third press conference led by Vermont Legal Aid targeting Shumlin’s cuts to programs for the poor since the governor gave his speech on Jan. 24.
The change in Reach Up would save the state around $6 million a year, according to administration officials, and affect around 1,200 recipients. There are 10,000 Vermont children in all who indirectly benefit from the Reach Up program.
Megan Wood, a 28-year-old single mother of three young children, said losing the benefit could put her on the streets. “I’d basically be homeless. If it wasn’t for Reach Up, I’d have nothing. … I have a disabled child. For him to be out in the cold is out of the question.”
Wood receives $700 a month from Reach Up. The money covers rent and electricity costs, but, she said, “I’m still struggling to provide Pull-Ups [disposable diapers] for my youngest.” Wood said she has been actively seeking work during the two years she has been on Reach Up, but lack of prior experience has prevented her from finding a job.
The recipients countered the notion, advanced by Shumlin, Secretary of Human Services Doug Racine and other members of the administration, that people who have been in the program for more than three consecutive years need more external “motivation” to find a job.
Shela Linton, a member of the Vermont Workers’ Center, said when she was on Reach Up, she worked more than 30 hours a week waitressing for $3.33 an hour plus tips, while attending college full time.
“There is a misconception about how Reach Up benefits work,” Linton said. “People don’t sit at home collecting benefits. There is some other disability or situation that may prevent them from working.”
Dorigen Keeney, program director at Hunger Free Vermont, said she was working at a clinic for starving children at the same time that Massachusetts implemented a time cap on its welfare benefits program.
“The number of children coming into our clinic with malnutrition exploded as a result of the caps the state put on.”