Capitol Action Days

On Wednesday August 11th, State Legislators & other politicians in Sacramento met with everyday people to discuss alternative ways to balance the CA budget with out cutting money from vital social programs. Residents at Father Alfred Center, St. Anthony’s inpatient drug and alcohol rehabilitation program, residents went there with the Jusice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy program and The Health and Human Services Network to show the face of those in treatment.

HHS Came to the talks with three stated goals.
• “To Invest in and protect the health and human services vital to California’s economy and families.”
• “To champion alternatives to dismantling our health care and human services including targeted state revenues and federal recovery funds.”
• And finally, “To reform and re-invent the states broken budget process.”

Father Alfred Center Residents who attended spoke on a number of issues related to these goals.

For example, California currently imposes a lifetime ban on food stamps for individuals who are convicted of drug related felonies (even those in recovery). One resident who spoke at the event told me, “Food Stamps help Stimulate the economy among other things. By keeping them from those seeking treatment, the economy is denied that stimulation effect.”

Other ideas proposed were a nickel tax on all alcoholic beverages sold in CA, and a tax on imported oil.

When I asked her to comment Colleen Rivecca of St. Anthony Foundation’s Jusice Education, Volunteer and Advocacy program told me:

“One of the budget balancing strategies in the Governor’s Budget Proposal is to cut the benefit levels for people receiving SSI/SSP grants. SSI/SSP recipients are low-income blind, elderly and disabled people, and they are ineligible for Food Stamps. People receiving SSI/SSP have already received 3 grant level reductions within the past year. The guys talked about the growing numbers of seniors and people with disabilities that they see every day while working in at St. Anthony Dining Room – they said that these people are already struggling to make ends meet, and a further reduction in their benefits would make it even more difficult for them to survive.”

A lot of good ideas were exchanged at the meeting, and as always Father Alfred Center Residents and St Anthony Foundation was there to do their part.