More than 18,000 disabled people who live on $339 a month from the state's General Assistance-Unemployable program could see their monthly grant reduced to $50 starting in September under a bill amended last week in the state Senate.
In place of the $339, the amended Security Lifeline Act, Second Substitute House Bill 2782, which was originally proposed by Rep. Mary Lou Dickerson (D-Seattle) with the full grant, would provide a housing voucher to pay for a person's rent, with the $50 and food stamps expected to cover other household needs.
That's just one component of a striker amendment made to the bill Feb. 25 by Sen. Jim Hargrove (D-Hoquiam) and the Senate Human Services & Corrections Committee that Hargrove chairs. Among others, Hargrove's amendment would require GAU recipients to be housed or lose the $50 grant. Recipients who didn't participate in mandated drug and alcohol treatment or vocational rehabilitation would also lose the $50, but still receive medical coverage under the program.
The amendment mirrors what the Senate approved over the weekend in its operating budget and is an attempt, housing advocates say, to replace the cash grant with a badly needed service