The Terrible GOP Policy That'll Kick Thousands More Mentally Ill Homeless People Out on the Streets

http://www.alternet.org/tea-party-and-right/terrible-gop-policy-thatll-kick-thousands-more-mentally-ill-homeless-people-out




Will escalating Republican attacks on Social Security disability benefits cause an increase in homeless people across America? Quite possibly, say advocates for disabled and mentally ill Americans, citing the growing attacks on the Social Security Disability Insurance program in Congress and on the presidential trail. GOP threats to curtail spending on Social Security have many worried that tens of thousands of people could be pushed into the streets, primarily because they would either lose access to subsized housing or could not afford rent.

“It’s hard to assess how many homeless people would be affected by it—it’s more like how many people would become homeless,” said Shelly Nortz, the deputy executive director for policy for the Coalition for the Homeless in New York state, when asked how potential SSDI cuts could affect homelessness.

“Does that mean restructuring people’s eligibility and kicking them off like Reagan did, or making it tougher to get on,” she said, citing two scenarios. “If they review the cases, or revise the eligibility standards of disabilities, and 10 percent [of the 3.6 million SSDI recipients with diagnosed mental disorders] lose their benefits, the likelihood is that some will lose their housing.”

“Once on SSDI, they are able to get into housing—it is a key support,” said Michael Stoops, National Coalition for the Homeless director of community organizing, saying that qualifying for the benefit opens up access to other subsidized and private housing programs. “It’s been a real lifeline to the homeless.”