Page 21
Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Demand for state programs grows
Illinois Valley Chamber of Commerce
greeters Dulcie Moore and LaVina
Fonseca visited two new businesses in
Cave Junction on Thursday, May 14.
(Right) Moore met with Michelle Mauri,
owner of Dragonflyz, clothing and gift
store at 315 S. Redwood Hwy.
At Wheels a Turnin’, a garden supply
shop at 1001 Caves Hwy. Fonseca and
Moore met Daniel, Kelly, and Athena
Demuth. The greeters welcome the
new businesses and encourage them
to become members of the I.V. Cham-
ber. (Photos by Michelle Binker,
Illinois Valley News )
NOTICE OF BUDGET HEARING
With Oregon’s unem-
ployment rate remaining at
more than 10 percent, more
Oregonians than ever before
count on public services to
help get through economic
tough times.
Demand for Supplemen-
tal Nutrition Assistance Pro-
gram benefits (formerly food
stamps) and Temporary As-
sistance for Needy Families
(TANF) increased again last
month, and it’s anticipated
that the trend will continue.
In March, a total of
696,306 Oregonians received
SNAP benefits, an increase of
23 percent from one year ago,
and nearly 44 percent since
July 2008, when Oregon’s
unemployment rate was just
above 6 percent.
Last month, a total of
26,661 families received
TANF — up 9 percent from a
year ago and 34 percent from
July 2008; this program is
available only for extremely
low-income Oregon families.
“In the current difficult
economic environment, eve-
ryone knows someone who is
out of work or working re-
duced hours,” said Erinn Kel-
ley-Siel, director of the Chil-
dren, Adults and Families
Division in the Dept. of Hu-
man Services.
“One of the main reasons
that SNAP numbers are so
high,” she said, “is that peo-
ple have been unemployed
for longer periods of time.
That creates the double effect
of families staying on the
program longer while, at the
same time, more families
who need SNAP benefits to
feed their families become
eligible.”
SNAP benefits provide
an important bridge for peo-
ple who are unemployed or
underemployed and earn too
little to meet their basic nutri-
tion needs, she said. TANF
helps families pay for shelter
and other necessities that par-
ents would not be able to oth-
erwise afford. It also provides
case management services for
families struggling due to
unemployment, underem-
ployment or incapacitation of
a primary wage earner.
There are 160 DHS loca-
tions across the state where
Oregonians can apply for
SNAP, TANF and other
benefits for which they may
be eligible. Many state and
federal programs have online
applications. Go to:
www.oregon.gov/DHS/
assistance/.
Eligibility Noted
To be eligible for SNAP
benefits, families must earn
less than 185 percent of the
federal poverty level, with
other factors. For a family of
four, the income limit is less
than $3,400 per month. The
maximum benefit for a
household of four totals $668
per month.
The overall average
SNAP benefit per household
is approximately $250 per
month. Approximately three-
fourths of all SNAP house-
holds have some form of in-
come, which results in the
actual benefit level received
being reduced from the maxi-
mum.
Benefits are determined
on a sliding scale, based on
household income, and are
distributed through the Ore-
gon Trail Card that is used
like a debit card to purchase
food. SNAP benefits can be
used to purchase food for the
household to eat, such as
breads and cereals; fruits and
vegetables; meats, fish and
poultry; and dairy products.
SNAP benefits are in-
tended to act as a supplement
to a family’s overall food
budget -- not to cover it en-
tirely. In many households
with little or no income, it can
be the primary means to meet
the family’s nutritional needs.
To be eligible for TANF,
parents with children must
earn less than the total
monthly income limit. For a
two-parent family with two
children, that maximum is
$795, with an asset limit of
$2,500 (not including the fam-
ily home, or the first $10,000
value of family vehicles).
The maximum benefit
for a family of four, with no
other income, is $647 total
per month. TANF provides
temporary assistance and case
management services for
families struggling due to
unemployment, underem-
ployment or incapacitation of
a primary wage earner.
TANF and related pro-
grams also provide employ-
ment and training services,
child care while looking for
work or other alternatives,
assistance seeking Social Se-
curity Income or Social Secu-
rity Disability Income, and
help to flee or stay free from
domestic violence.
Public housing benefits noted in study
Public investment in af-
fordable housing develop-
ment generates significant
economic benefit, creates jobs
and supports local business.
So observed Victor
Merced, director of Oregon
Housing and Community
Services (OHCS), regarding
his department’s newly pub-
lished Housing as an Eco-
nomic Stimulus (ohcs.oregon.
gov/OHCS/DO_Economic
Stimulus.shtml). This demon-
strates that federal stimulus
money for housing will add
value to Oregon’s economy,
Merced stated.
“Each dollar our agency
invests in housing creates $11
in benefit to the Oregon econ-
omy,” he said. “And that
doesn’t include the immeas-
urable benefits to an individ-
ual or family of having a safe,
quality, affordable home.”
Housing as an Economic
Stimulus explores the eco-
nomic and community bene-
fits of affordable housing,
especially important in to-
day’s distressed financial
environment. To receive a
copy, contact OHCS at (503)
986-2000. The report also is
posted at ohcs.oregon.gov.
“Each dollar spent on
affordable housing helps to
revitalize family incomes,
business coffers and govern-
ment revenues,” Merced said.
“Housing recipients,” he
opined, “benefit from reduced
risk of homelessness, safer
neighborhoods, improved
physical and mental health,
and raising motivated chil-
dren who succeed at school
and in life.”
The publication describes
the benefits of three innova-
tive housing projects, sup-
ported by OHCS funding:
New Winds in Florence; The
Watershed at Hillsdale in
Portland; and Conifer Gar-
dens in Medford. Topics in
the booklet include funding
options, project development
effects, hard and soft costs of
construction, jobs created by
each project, economic ef-
fects on residents and com-
munities, and environmental
results of “green” building.
The three housing pro-
jects described in this report
generated more than 200 lo-
cal jobs and nearly 250 jobs
statewide. Every $13,000 that
OHCS invests in a housing
project creates approximately
one local job, a significant
result since OHCS invests
more than $900,000 on aver-
age in a housing project.
During the past five
years, OHCS and its private
sector funding partners fi-
nanced more than 11,000
units of affordable housing
for a development investment
of $375 million.
“By funding affordable
housing, OHCS positively
impacts individuals, families
and communities throughout
Oregon,” according to
Merced. “Our results con-
tinue to make us proud, and
the rewards are notable. Infu-
sions of public dollars for
housing generate exceptional
pay-back.”
OHCS is the state’s
housing finance agency and
community services program
administrator. It provides
financial and program support
to create and preserve oppor-
tunities for quality, affordable
housing serving Oregonians
of lower and moderate in-
come. And it administers
federal and state antipoverty,
homeless, energy assistance
and community service pro-
grams.
The OHCS mission is to
“Provide leadership that en-
ables Oregonians to gain
housing, become self-
sufficient and achieve pros-
perity.” Click on http://
www.ohcs.oregon.gov/.
USDA boosts grants to SNAP program
USDA grants of up to $5
million to improve access to
and increase participation in
the Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program (SNAP)
-- formerly the Food Stamp
Program -- will be awarded,
Agriculture Secretary Tom
Vilsack announced.
Grant applications for
organizations can be obtained
at www.grants.gov or at
www.fns.usda.gov/snap or by
phoning the grant officer,
Lisa Johnson, at 703-305-
2848.
The Food and Nutrition
Act of 2008 authorized
USDA to award $5 million in
grants for state and local gov-
ernment and private non-
profit organization projects to
simplify SNAP application
and eligibility systems and
improve access to SNAP
benefits by eligible house-
holds.
This year, USDA is in-
terested in funding projects
that apply a process improve-
ment process (PIP) to the
state agency’s application,
certification and recertifica-
tion procedures to make them
more efficient and effective.
USDA also is interested in
funding projects that involve
a partnership between a state
For all your home repair/maintenance needs
call Mike at 541-531-6220
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agency and one or more pri-
vate non-profit organizations.
The deadline to submit
grant proposal applications is
June 23.
USDA’s Food & Nutri-
tion Service oversees the ad-
ministration of 15 nutrition
assistance programs that
touch the lives of one in four
Americans during the course
of a year.
“The largest program,
SNAP, puts healthy food on
the table for more than 38
million people it serves each
month, half of whom are chil-
dren,” said Vilsack.
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