Nearly 100 housing vouchers at risk in budget

WORCESTER — Nearly 100 city families would lose housing vouchers and be in danger of living in shelters under cuts outlined in House Ways and Means version of the state budget, according to a nonprofit housing official.

The $27.44 billion budget for fiscal 2010 would cut the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program by 45 percent, said Erin Burns-Maine, spokeswoman for the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance. The proposed budget is about $700,000 million less than the current one.

Currently, 214 families and individuals in the city rely on the voucher program, Ms. Burns-Maine said during a news conference yesterday at Neighbor to Neighbor, in which several city organizations outlined how budget cuts would affect their services. Neighbor to Neighbor is a nonprofit on Main Street that advocates for programs for low-income families.

“This 45 percent cut would result in a loss of over 96 vouchers in the city of Worcester alone,” Ms. Burns-Maine said.

She said the average housing voucher costs $592 a month. She said it is an efficient program, especially in comparison with shelters, which are more expensive for the state.

“The average cost of a family in a shelter is $3,000 a month,” she said. “The average length of stay once in a shelter is over six months, at a cost of at least $18,000 per family.

“There is a direct correlation between cutting rental voucher programs and an increased demand to emergency shelter programs. … We’re asking the Legislature to fully fund the program or expand it.

“We hope the Legislature will see how irresponsible cutting this program would be.”

Jean McMurray, executive director of the Worcester County Food Bank, said her organization is providing assistance to 12,000 more people, an increase of 17 percent from last year. She said the House budget cuts $4 million from food bank programs across the state, and pointed out that Rep. Anne M. Gobi, D-Spencer, has filed an amendment that would restore the full funding.

“These are real people fighting to meet the needs of their families,” she said of the food bank’s clients. “We need this so children won’t go to school with empty bellies. … My hope is we can find a way to protect our most vulnerable citizens.”

Mary Keefe, executive director of the Pleasant Street Neighborhood Network Center, which runs programs to strengthen the neighborhood, said budget cuts have removed two-thirds of its budget. The network center will remain in operation, but is now down to a single staff person, she said.

She said that without the youth employment program the center has run, there could be an increase in youth violence over the summer.

“I think we’re going to pay a price if we don’t maintain these programs.”