Government Shutdown Threatens Programs for Older Adults and People with Disabilities

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

As the government shutdown continues, so do its impacts on older adults, people with disabilities, and their families. While Medicare and Medicaid are fully funded for the year, other critical programs—like affordable housing, food assistance, and transportation services—are not. This threatens the health and economic security of millions of Americans.

At Medicare Rights, we are extremely concerned that the partial government shutdown is threatening to destabilize over four million households that depend on the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) rental assistance programs. Through these programs, low-income families, older adults, and people with disabilities are able to access housing and community-based supports they would not otherwise be able to afford. If the shutdown continues, many of these individuals may be evicted, lose needed services, or experience unsafe living conditions.

A prolonged shutdown would also put millions of Americans at risk of hunger. While the Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently announced plans to work with state agencies to keep the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP) operating through February, the longer-term availability of this critical assistance is not guaranteed. SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program, helps 38 million low-income Americans in 19 million households afford to purchase food. In 2016, 8.7 million (over 40% of) SNAP households had at least one adult age 50 or older; in 2015, the number of people with disabilities receiving food support was 11 million. If the government shutdown continues, these and other Americans who rely on SNAP would experience unnecessary hardship.

At the same time, the shutdown is also affecting the Department of Transportation (DOT), which may limit the ability of older adults and people with disabilities to access transportation programs that help them participate in the community, visit their doctor, or go to the grocery store. States and localities scrambling to stretch existing DOT funds could soon, if not already, experience disruptions or suspension of services. And those who rely on these programs to obtain vital medication and other essential health services may in turn experience harmful delays and interruptions in care continuity. As the shutdown stretches on, so do the health and isolation risks for people who face barriers to transportation.

https://blog.medicarerights.org/government-shutdown-threatens-programs-older-adults-people-disabilities/?utm_source=Medicare+Rights+Center&utm_campaign=b4afb97827-Medicare_Watch_01_17_2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_1c591fe07f-b4afb97827-84687761&mc_cid=b4afb97827&mc_eid=d40db0d575

[Cha]

1. This is Very Important!

[rustysgurl]

2. I have never seen someone cry in a grocery store until today

An older woman was standing in the produce section holding a bag of potatoes, sniffling and trying to hide it. Her adult (and obviously mentally handicapped son) was fishing in her purse trying to find a tissue saying over and over again, 'Don't cry, Mama.' I about lost it. We talked. She lives in assisted housing and with her husband gone, is reliant on Section 8, Social Security and food stamps to support and take care of her child. She has a part time job at a local restaurant but its business relies on employees from a nearby federal facility for a lot of its income. Tips have all but disappeared and her employer cut her hours back. She is trying to budget her food stamp allotment, but said sometimes her son gets up while she is asleep and eats a lot. She has had to put a chain and padlock on her refrigerator to keep him from going through groceries, as she put it, 'too quickly.' Her landlord has already told her that he will not expect her to pay the remainder of her rent for now, but that eventually he will need to collect it from his tenants if the government doesn't pay him. His complex is one of those whose federal contract is up for renewal. They walk or take the bus to the grocery store and to his adult day care facility, as she can't afford to pay gas and insurance to keep a car. It is freezing here in the KC area, and on Sunday the temperature is projected to be -5. The more I talked with her the madder I got, although I did my damndest not to show it. I didn't want her internalizing it. I texted my husband and told him I was paying for this woman's groceries, and like the wonderful man he is, said 'go for it.' She didn't want me to, but I wouldn't take no for an answer. I told her to save her food stamps and we stocked up on non-perishables and got a few (as she put it) 'luxury' items that she wouldn't normally have purchased. Popcorn, a bag of oranges, and fresh asparagus that she hadn't had in 'so long.' Those were her 'luxury' items. I sat in the parking lot and cried until I just about hyperventilated. THESE are the people this is affecting. Those with no safety net, who don't want much, but just to live their lives with some sense of peace. God damn Trump, Mitchell, Ryan, Pence and anyone else who thinks this is ok.

[BumRushDaShow]

4. OMG what an angel you are!

Sometimes just that small gesture is enough to keep someone going for some time.

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. Thank you.

[Wellstone ruled]

3. This is serious stuff.

Here in Nevada the section 8,292,and 234 programs are expected to be broke by Feb 8. As someone whom has had Rentals dedicated to these programs,the folks who are illegible can lose these benefits if your local program runs out of funds. The real scary part is this,some may have to reapply for benefits. And that is a ugly possibility.

[Cha]

5. KICK!

[Andy823]

6. K&R

This needs to be addressed and it needs to be on the front page here.

[Scurrilous]

8. K&R

[area51]

9. This is an abomination,

and of course Trump & his ilk don't give a shit.