State officials...announced that welfare benefits to 16,000 recipients will be decreased next month because of a lack of funds.

Monthly benefits will drop 11.5 percent -- from $303 to $268 a month -- for recipients of the Emergency Aid to Elderly Disabled and Children [EAEDC] program. Nursing home residents will be exempt. ...

To qualify for the program, someone must have had a disability for at least 60 days, be at least 65 and awaiting federal Supplemental Security Income payments, or be involved in Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission programs.

Senior citizens spend an average of six to nine months waiting for approval of SSI benefits, Powers [Dick Powers, DTA spokesman] said.

-From the Boston Globe, 8/6/03, By Stephanie Ebbert, Globe Staff, and Katherine Lutz, Globe Correspondent

UPDATE: October 2003

Cuts Have Not Yet Been Enacted

The Emergency Aid to the Elderly, Disabled, and Children (EAEDC) Program is a state cash assistance program that provides monthly cash benefits to low income people who meet disability or other eligibility requirements.

Often, EAEDC provides transitional funds to recipients who are waiting to qualify for SSI or SSDI. However, other recipients rely on EAEDC because the length of their disability will not meet the requirements for federal programs.

Currently, recipients receive $303/month. If the cuts go through, the monthly benefit will be reduced to only $268.

The Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless is creating a defense group to fight the cuts to EAEDC. They are interested in working with past or present recipients in hopes of convincing the legislature of how valuable the program is to the recipients. They can help by sharing their stories, joining the defense group, or by contacting their legislators.

If you work with or know of any past or present recipients, please encourage them to contact the coalition for more information.