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When Jill Welters is on the phone with her only daughter in Minnesota, every moment is precious.
Unemployed and in disabling pain, she relies on $261 per month in state aid to survive. That makes cell phone minutes a luxury.
Now her check may soon disappear because of a state budget saving move that will go into effect Aug. 1. Nearly 500 Utahns will no longer receive General Assistance. Others, like Welters, will have only a few more months of help.
The Salt Lake City resident, who wears a pair of Nike sneakers that are so old they are scuffed raw, is angry and disappointed in legislators.
"Walk a mile in my moccasins," she said. "Live the way I live."
For most Utahns receiving General Assistance, it is their only source of income, crucial to paying for rent and medication. Disabled, poor and unable to work beyond a minimal amount of hours, the majority are waiting to be approved for Social Security benefits.
Their disabilities, most of which are permanent, range from brain injuries to serious mental illness.
State officials had no choice but to look for ways to shrink the program, which currently serves about 1,500 disabled Utahns, after legislators slashed the General Assistance budget by $3 million during the past year.
Although clients could previously stay on General Assistance for up to two years, that limit has dropped to 12 months during a five year period.
A person's disability
With more stringent rules, some advocates worry that fewer Utahns will be able to receive assistance, something officials agree is a reality.
"The goal is to be able to maintain the program without stopping the program," said Helen Thatcher, an assistant director at Department of Workforce Services. "We do expect fewer people to be eligible."
One fear among General Assistance recipients is that they will hit the 12-month limit before they've received their Social Security benefits.
But improved efficiencies are expected to speed applications, officials say, which can sometimes be completed in four to six months. For others, the wait is more than a year.
Welters, who has been on General Assistance for about six months, believes she won't get her federal benefits by the 12-month limit -- even though she'd prefer to go back to work than rely on the government.
But a steel plate in her neck, a bulging disk and a nerve condition that makes her arms and hands burn make working nearly impossible.
"I can't trust my hands to hold anything," she said.
Advocates at Crossroads Urban Center in Salt Lake City fear the effect of the changes will be far deeper than state officials anticipate.
"My worry is that with the tightening of eligibility and the time limit they are going to cut a lot more people than they intended in a way that will be hard to undo," said Bill Tibbitts, a Crossroads advocate.
Indeed, Nathan Oxereok was homeless for about 9 years before he moved into Sunrise Metro Apartments where his General Assistance check pays the rent. These days his income is so small that he treated himself to a pack of cigarettes for his birthday last week. But he had to borrow $2 from a friend first. A paranoid schizophrenic with a bad leg and a drinking problem, Oxereok knows he'll lose his General Assistance this summer. He's worried about being homeless once again.
"It's how much I'll be able to use my leg that will determine whether I can get a job," he said.
