City of Philadelphia - File #: 190576

• File #: 190576
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 6/13/2019
• In control: CITY COUNCIL
• Final action: 6/20/2019
• Title: Urging Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to protect and expand the General Assistance Program to provide a lifeline for people with disabilities throughout the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Quiñones Sánchez, Councilmember Squilla, Councilmember Green, Councilmember Gym, Councilmember Jones, Councilmember Taubenberger, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Bass, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember Parker, Councilmember Domb, Councilmember Greenlee, Councilmember Johnson

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
6/20/2019	0	CITY COUNCIL
6/13/2019	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced and Ordered Placed On Next Week's Final Passage Calendar

Title
Urging Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania General Assembly to protect and expand the General Assistance Program to provide a lifeline for people with disabilities throughout the City of Philadelphia and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
Body
WHEREAS, The General Assistance (GA) program has provided a lifeline for people living in extreme poverty, with disabilities by giving them a modest, temporary monthly cash allowance; and

WHEREAS, General Assistance is a humane and effective way to help extremely needy people with no income who are unable to work and who do not meet the requirements for the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) Program to afford a place to sleep, something to eat, applying for ID, and other necessities even if they are living in a homeless shelter; and

WHEREAS, Individuals receiving domestic violence services and substance abuse recovery programs have a lifetime eligibility maximum of nine months. Applicants for disability benefits can receive GA while they await a favorable decision from the Social Security Administration, a process which can take up to two years; and

WHEREAS, In 2012 Governor Tom Corbett eliminated the General Assistance program which was the sole source of income for more than 65,000 people, the vast majority (about 61,000) had at least one temporary or permanent disability and received about $200 per month; and

WHERAS, Currently Governor Tom Wolf has proposed a $34 billion budget including $50 million for the program for Fiscal Year 2020, a fraction of 1% of the total proposed budget for a program that as of April 2019 is currently assisting 5,224 Philadelphians and many others statewide; and

WHEREAS, Pennsylvania has the twenty-third highest poverty rate of any state in the nation with 1,548,720 people, or 12.5% of the population, living below the federal poverty guidelines, $24,860 for a family of four; and

WHEREAS, Of those people most likely to be living in poverty, that is, without sufficie...