Spending cuts threaten to increase homelessness

(NECN: Brad Puffer, Boston, Mass.) – On Thursday, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick announced that $600 million must be sliced from the 2010 budget. Many are now wondering what will become of social services in the Bay State, and where families already struggling, will turn to for help. The Governor has made it clear everything is on the table in his effort to close the 600-million dollar budget shortfall in Massachusetts. John Kellogg is with The National Center on Family Homelessness. John Kellogg: “We are very concerned that budget cuts to meat that deficit will fall on the backs of these children, we do not want that to happen.” Kellogg says there are more than 17,000 children already homeless in Massachusetts. And that number could grow as the unemployment rate rises along with continued home foreclosures. Venessa LaBarca, Homeless: “I lost a job in January 2008 and I soon became homeless.” Vanessa LaBarca found herself suddenly part of those statistics. She lost her apartment and was homeless with her daughter. Venessa LaBarca, Homeless: “I made a joke when we were staying in a hotel that that underpass was probably the next pace we were going to be. It was joke, but in a way it wasn’t.” She now lives in a shelter while going back to school. A safety net she desperately needed. Diane Nilan is a national advocate taking her message on the road. Diane Nilan, Hear Us Inc.: “Housing is not available, other assistance is not available and we are at the point of cutting what little there is now just to balance the budget.” It’s no easy job to decide what to cut. House Ways and Means Chairman Charles Murphy says anybody who depends on state funding is at risk. Rep. Charles Murphy: “The concerns is just moving forward an doing as little harm to people as possible because we are dealing with people‘s lives.” The Governor may have to lay off 2,000 state employees. Local aid could also be cut, strapping cities and towns already on the edge. And then there are the possible cuts to social services. John Kellogg: “We see our colleagues scrambling not only for public funding but for private funding so it is a time of great concern.”