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.75 million out of 40 million is not huge. CA does have a ton of social programs to help the poor. One of the benefits of living in a "high tax" state.
As a retired Social Worker I dealt with many seniors who were poor (SSI @ $900 a month), but doing OK thanks to subsidized housing, Medicaid, state and local funded food banks and other State enhanced programs.
The article said a senior needs $24,000 a year to pay their bills in CA. At that income level any senior would qualify for a ton of programs in CA. I don't understand why the article said what it said.
But can everyone who is poor live in subsidized housing?
I'm asking, as I do not know.
Yes, but there are restrictions. If it’s a senior facility, you can’t have your family move in with you. At most places, if you become incapacitated, you need to move to an appropriate place. Most low income senior places are not care facilities.
And you have to get on the long waiting list. And the waiting list, if I recall correctly, is not for XYZ facility, it for a place in one of the facilities in XYZ county.
I was asking if there are actually enough subsidized housing units built and available to house all poor people.
I'm also wondering if vouchers are available for all poor people who would live in non-subsidized units but regular units just using some sort of voucher.
I was asking if there are actually enough subsidized housing units built and available to house all poor people.
I'm also wondering if vouchers are available for all poor people who would live in non-subsidized units but regular units just using some sort of voucher.
There is in CA what is called Section 8. It can apply to any rental if the landlord accepts Section 8 payments which subsidizes rental payments for poor people.
I was asking if there are actually enough subsidized housing units built and available to house all poor people.
I'm also wondering if vouchers are available for all poor people who would live in non-subsidized units but regular units just using some sort of voucher.
Oh.
No.
We just had a low income building built near us. There was a lottery for the right to apply for one of the 114 units. Over 10,000 registered. We need lots of buildings built, the need is too great and owners who are better object massively to low income buildings.
The only reason this one got built is the people in the neighborhood weren’t paying attention, and by the time they all decided to object it was way too late.
.75 million out of 40 million is not huge. CA does have a ton of social programs to help the poor. One of the benefits of living in a "high tax" state.
As a retired Social Worker I dealt with many seniors who were poor (SSI @ $900 a month), but doing OK thanks to subsidized housing, Medicaid, state and local funded food banks and other State enhanced programs.
The article said a senior needs $24,000 a year to pay their bills in CA. At that income level any senior would qualify for a ton of programs in CA. I don't understand why the article said what it said.
No this is incorrect. I am not sure if you've forgotten or if it is just another case of pushing the welfare people are doing so well.
The only discount I am aware of at that level is a 20% discount off of pg&e bill and possibly weatherization for your home every decade.
At 24K per yr, a single person would not qualify for food stamps nor medicaid.
2K per month is far beyond the typical poverty level amt regarding eligibility for even a Senior Couple to qualify for much.
A couple could do a Medicaid "spend down" to the eligibility rate of $1668. per mo. Or just one person of the couple might qualify but not both. At least not here in California. One Senior would be without medical coverage if the spend down was not utilized.
Also...Subsidized housing in California is known for its long waits. Generally, many many years.
Section 8 was open JUST ONCE in our County for a whole hour, in about 15 yrs.
Food Stamps, not for 95% of these folks at that income level. It would need to be the extremely rare case of massive medical bills along with a huge house payment even larger than we'd expect for California. The USDA has a food stamp calculator for California to test it out. 2k is way too much $$ for a senior to qualify for that program, even two seniors! Many seniors can qualify for $16 a month food stamps but that is not "many programs" nor enough $ to bother even applying for it. https://www.snap-step1.usda.gov/fns/
Possibly th ey may qualify for the food banks. They have higher income eligibility but not that much higher.Whoop De Doo
Last edited by ItIsWritten.; 03-22-2018 at 10:36 PM..
In Santa Clara County in CA (San Jose, Palo Alto, etc.), you can actually earn up to nearly $80,000 and qualify for Section 8, because of the cost of housing here.
That said, you then need to find somewhere to accept your voucher. The easiest way for seniors to do that, is to find subsidized tax credit properties for seniors. BUT, these buildings have their own income restrictions, which is less than the Section 8 max. My vague recollection for the building I live in in San Jose, is a max of something like $59K, but I'm not sure. And, you have to find one with an open waiting list, so you can't be picky.
It's really true that the poorest people are eligible for the most help. That said, in this market, you still have to meet their criteria because of the demand for housing - they can afford to be picky. So, you'll probably have to have decent credit and good references, etc.
It's weird to feel blessed to be poor enough to get help. I do have to mention, too, that people like me, who are so poor we can't afford any kinds of emergencies - although other needs are met at a basic level - we are too afraid of losing our benefits to dare try to earn more money.
The system is messed up and needs to be fixed, in a huge way.
Oh, and what I had to do to get Section 8 in San Jose, was to move to the boonies where the Section 8 list was open and the waiting list was short. Then, get Section 8 voucher there, live there a year while getting on waiting lists back in San Jose, wait for my number to come up in San Jose, while also improving my credit, keeping my landlord references good, and then "port" my voucher back to San Jose.
It can be done, but you have to be willing to move somewhere you don't want to live first, and wait. My plan took me about 5 years. But, if I'd stayed here, I couldn't have afforded to live here and wait for a list that either never opened up, or the wait list would have been probably 10 years or more.
We really need better solutions, especially for people who can't afford or aren't well enough to do what I did and move away from family and friends, etc. for several years, and often to some area where health care is seriously lacking.
If you've been a long-time CA property owner, that is a massive blessing for you and your descendants.
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