- Study: Homelessness up sharply in Minn., By Toni Randolph, March 31, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “The number of homeless people in Minnesota has risen sharply over the past three years, according to a study released Wednesday by the Wilder Foundation. The study counted 9,452 homeless people in Minnesota during a one-day survey conducted last October. That’s up 22 percent from 2006 levels. The uptick follows a six-year period of relative stability in the homeless numbers…”
- Ranks of homeless rising in Minnesota, By Warren Wolfe, March 30, 2010, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribunre: “Homelessness in Minnesota rose 22 percent in the past three years, reaching the highest level in at least two decades, according to initial findings from a statewide survey by Wilder Research of St. Paul. Analysts blamed the weak economy. There were 9,452 men, women and children in shelters, transitional housing and on the streets during the one-day survey conducted last October, up from 7,751 in 2006, according to findings being made public Wednesday…”
Day: March 31, 2010
Proposed Cuts to State TANF Program – Minnesota
Recipients say Pawlenty’s welfare cuts would be disastrous, By Madeleine Baran, March 30, 2010, Minnesota Public Radio: “On a recent afternoon, Ja’Na Dickens held her three-year-old son on her hip, sliced up a pineapple for her three children, and expressed her determination to lift her family out of poverty. The 22-year-old mom has a lot to overcome. Her youngest son, Ira, was born with a rare genetic condition, and doctors said he had a year to live. In the last year, however, Dickens’ life began to change. Ira’s health improved. He started receiving 24-hour nursing care at the family’s Plymouth apartment. Dickens enrolled as a part-time student at North Central University in Minneapolis, with the hopes of getting her bachelor’s degree in social work. But Dickens’ plans could run headlong into Gov. Tim Pawlenty’s plan for balancing the state’s budget. Her family is one of 7,000 households with a disabled family member who would lose hundreds of dollars a month under Pawlenty’s budget fix…”
Drug Testing of TANF Participants
Should welfare recipients get drug testing?, By Alan Greenblatt, March 31, 2010, National Public Radio: “Kasha Kelley believes that people on welfare need to spend their money on things like diapers and detergent – not drugs. Kelley, who has served in the Kansas state House since 2005, sponsored legislation to require a large share of the state’s welfare recipients to be tested for drug use, or risk losing their benefits. ‘I get a lot of constituents who mention their frustrations with neighbors they know are receiving some sort of public assistance,’ she says. ‘They don’t feel the money’s being used right when they know that drugs are being used in the house, and I would concur with that.’ The Kansas House passed Kelley’s bill overwhelmingly last year, but it has not won Senate approval. She hasn’t given up, though – and neither have legislators in at least nine other states who have introduced similar measures…”