Mayor Bing Holds Call to Action On Welfare Cuts
DETROIT (WWJ) - On Saturday, 41,000 Michigan residents were cut-off from cash assistance by the state, half of which are estimated to be Detroiters. This has Detroit Mayor Dave Bing very concerned and acting swiftly in response to the cut-offs.
"It could not come at a worse time as far as we're concerned," Bing said. "A lot of these people do live in Detroit ...When folks can't pay rent, they can't eat, they can't clothe their children, you know negative things happen."
Of the Detroiters affected by the cutoffs, 15,000 are believed to be children.
"There gonna be a lot of families, a lot of kids, that aren't gonna have the financial support that they got accustomed to and nobody was doin that well in the first place," Bing said
"We're gonna have a call to action ... We gotta come to the table and help where we can," Bing said.
The 'Call to Action' will take place over a three day span starting on Monday at Cobo Center and will bring together Detroit agencies as well as community organizations with the goal of helping out the families affected by the cut-offs.
"We can get a lot of our community-based organizations geared up to try to give as much help and support as we can," Bing said. "We're trying to curtail as much negative activity as we possibly can."
Caseworkers of the 'call to action' notified families who lost benefits about the event and informed them of the opportunities it will create.
"Some of the services that we offer are utility assistance for customers who are in a rearage. We also offer rental assistance," said Ursala Holland, Director of Human Services.
Bing will meet with Michigan Governor Rick Snyder this week to talk about the welfare cuts and to discuss possible solutions to the issue.
