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Community News and Announcements

Tell Congress to Pass the SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act!
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The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program provides critical support for millions of people with disabilities and their families to be able to afford necessities like food and rent. But SSI has many rules that make it hard for people to save money and get out of poverty.

In fact, SSI has asset limits that have not been updated since 1989. Assets include money in bank accounts, property, and savings. Right now, people who get SSI can only have $2,000 in assets, and married couples can only have $3,000.

These asset limits make it impossible for people to save money for emergencies and force too many people with disabilities into poverty—but a new bill introduced in Congress could help change that!

Please contact your U.S. Senators and ask them to support people with disabilities and their families by co-sponsoring the bipartisan SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act, which would raise SSI asset limits for the first time in over 30 years and significantly improve the lives of people with disabilities who receive SSI.
 
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Please Support Michigan’s Direct Care Workers

When a Michigan resident experiences a mental illness or developmental disability, they should be able to hire the help they need to ensure their safety and wellbeing. But right now, they can’t.

In today's tight labor market, it is difficult to find a Direct Care Worker, whether you are looking for care for yourself, a loved one, or hiring an employee for your agency. This leaves our state’s most vulnerable residents at risk.

Our coalition proposes a General Fund appropriation of $127.0 million in FY 23 which would increase the average starting wage rate in the behavioral health system to approximately $18.00 per hour. That’s what many entry-level jobs pay across the state right now and is the least we can do to compensate our Direct Care workforce.

With significant amounts of GF dollars and pandemic-related federal funding available to the state right now, Michigan has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to address the long-standing direct care workforce crisis in a meaningful and sustained manner.

Let’s reach out and make it happen.

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