With General Assistance Set to End, Costs Will Shift to Homeless Shelters, ERs

July 30, 2012

Read a blog post about the end of General Assistance

The state will terminate General Assistance (GA) on Wednesday, ending a decades-old benefit of last resort for low-income people who are sick, living with a disability, or escaping an abuser.

PBPC Director Sharon Ward will join former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm on Current TV's The War Room with Jennifer Granholm at 9 p.m. Tuesday, July 31 to discuss GA's unfortunate end. Funding for GA was eliminated in the 2012-13 state budget approved by the General Assembly and signed by Governor Tom Corbett in June.

General Assistance provides a temporary monthly benefit to 68,887 Pennsylvanians who are sick, disabled or escaping an abuser. Over the years, it has provided a bridge to a better life for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians.

Eliminating General Assistance will save some money in the budget, but cost much more as thousands of Pennsylvanians turn to homeless shelters, emergency room services, fire and police – all at significantly greater cost.