Dec 30, 2009 6:13 pm US/Pacific
Alameda General Assistance Cuts Stir Protests
OAKLAND (CBS 5 / BCN) ―
Recipients of general assistance funds and their supporters will hold a rally in front of the Alameda County administration building Thursday night to protest a new three-month limit that goes into effect on Friday.
The program helps single adults, who receive up to $336 a month in assistance. Recipients include disabled adults, veterans, seniors, domestic violence victims and women.
Starting Friday, recipients who are deemed "employable," defined as younger than 64 and mentally and physically fit, will only be able to get payments for three months in any given year.
"This is bad news all the way around," said Booma Cheema, executive director of the Berkeley-based Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency, or BOSS.
She said general assistance is a lifeline against destitution for 10,000 county residents and that the new rules will increase homelessness and create turmoil.
Alameda County officials said they don't want to cut the general assistance benefits but that the program had a deficit of more than $11 million in the last fiscal year.
Through the cuts, county officials hope to save about $3 million in the last six months of the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.
The rally is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday in front of the county building at 1221 Oak St. in Oakland.
Several general assistance recipients are scheduled to speak, as well as Alameda County Supervisor Keith Carson, Oakland City Councilwoman Jean Quan and Berkeley City Councilman Darryl Moore.
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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