SSI Listening Session on Hunger and Poverty November 10, 2015

In California, Supplemental Security Income (SSI), combined with the State Supplemental Payment (SSP), is a program funded jointly by the Federal and State governments to provide income support to seniors and people with disabilities.  Current SSI/SSP grants for single Californians are $889 per month, only 90% of the Federal Poverty Level, and significantly less than the actual income level needed for self-sufficiency.

California cut $1.4 billion from the SSI/SSP grants of our state’s seniors and people with disabilities during the Great Recession.  Food banks, food pantries, and free meal programs like St. Anthony’s Dining Room serve many seniors and people with disabilities who are unable to afford nutritious food.  We have been working, alongside SSI/SSP recipients and organizations across California who want to help end poverty among seniors and people with disabilities, to convince California legislators and Governor Brown to reverse the cuts to SSI/SSP made during the recession.  (See our petition to Governor Brown and the legislature, asking them to increase California’s contribution to SSI/SSP grants, and sign on if you haven’t yet.)

On Tuesday November 10, St. Anthony’s is co-sponsoring the “SSI Listening Session on Hunger and Poverty” at the Alameda County Community Food Bank in Oakland. Nine California legislators from San Francisco and the East Bay have been invited to the event – not to speak, but to listen to the stories of their constituents who receive SSI/SSP.  Our hope is that, as a result of hearing from SSI/SSP recipients about their struggles to survive on SSI/SSP, we will cultivate champions in the legislature who will stand up to ensure that California doesn’t pass one more budget that ignores the needs of seniors and people with disabilities who receive SSI/SSP.

Click here for more information about the November 10 event.  If you can’t join us in person, please consider sharing your concerns about SSI/SSP on social media on November 10, using the hashtag #CA4SSI.