Jefferson County’s general-assistance fund — money set aside for emergencies involving residents desperate for help — has dried up, leaving folks struggling to make rent and pay bills.
Jefferson County this year cut its general-assistance budget to $180,000 from $600,000 last year.
The county earmarked the money for indigent burials and nothing else. In the past, the fund was used to help those who were behind in paying rent or utilities or who could not afford prescription refills.
A check of other counties in the metro area showed no significant decreases in general assistance, a last- ditch, emergency funding source for people who don’t qualify for other state or federal assistance programs.
Jefferson County slashed the general-assistance budget after officials learned in early July that the county was getting about $300,000 less from the state for human services compared with 2009. The state’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30.
And it didn’t take long to see the effect of those cuts.
Another Jeffco emergency program, funded for about $65,000, was drawn dry within two days in July.
“We may not have money for short- term assistance for some folks, but we’re working with our partners on long-term solutions, like homelessness,” said Lynnae Flora, division director for community assistance in Jefferson County.
Lynette Dulworth is among those who said they looked to Jefferson County; the Jeffco Action Center, a nonprofit that helps those in need; and other agencies for rental assistance, only to be turned away.
Dulworth, who lives in a $600-a-month apartment in Wheat Ridge, is unemployed and said she was ripped off by friends and has no money to pay her rent this month or next. She pawned her computer this week for $75.
“I’m just in a real crisis here,” Dulworth said. “No one can help me.”
Jefferson County Commissioner Kathy Hartman said the budget for human services increased this year by $1.6 million. But programs that the county is mandated by the state to fund, including indigent burials, Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Child Welfare Services, had to come first. Child-welfare case numbers are up 30 percent this year, she said.
“I absolutely understand the pain and frustration from people who were expecting general-assistance help from us and can’t get it,” Hartman said. “Having to decide between services for veterans and emergency services is very tough.”
Most county general-assistance programs are funded by local taxes, although some are supplemented with federal dollars and other sources of revenue.
Arapahoe County’s general-assistance budget of $160,000 this year is the same as last year and will be about the same next year, human-services director Cheryl Ternes said.
Denver has increased its general-assistance budget over last year by about $40,000 to $1.5 million.
Denver Human Services spokeswoman Jamie Glennon said some federal money was funneled into general assistance.
Douglas County reduced its general-assistance budget by about $40,000 this year, but the county gives $100,000 to $150,000 a year to local nonprofits to assist residents who are facing eviction or can’t pay their bills. That money comes from a trust bequeathed to the county.
Compounding the problem, officials say, is that some people may not yet have received emergency unemployment benefits that were recently extended by the federal government for the long-term jobless.
Mag Strittmatter, executive director of the Jeffco Action Center, said the group’s caseload has increased since July.
She said part of the issue is that the center budgets a certain amount of money — from federal grants, private donations and other sources — for programs such as rental assistance in a way to make it last all year.
“With the demand such as it is, if our resources are expended as requested, we wouldn’t have money for 11 months of the year,” Strittmatter said.
Some quick cash was just the type of help Aaron Espinoza’s family needed.
Espinoza; his wife, Bridget; and two children were living with his parents but were forced to move out this month.
Espinoza is recovering from surgery to fix a disc in his back, and his wife also is unable to work while recovering from surgery. He called the county, Jeffco Action Center and others, but he said they told him they couldn’t help.
Fortunately, he was able to scrounge up money from friends and relatives and held a garage sale so his family could move into a Denver apartment.
The former disc jockey said his family should be OK for now. His wife soon will go back to work at a laboratory, and he’s awaiting a decision on whether he will receive disability benefits. Still, he said, some emergency assistance would have helped.
“For a person in my situation where it’s a one-time thing,” Espinoza said, “I think there are places where the budget could be cut in other places.”
Carlos Illescas: 303-954-1175 or cillescas@denverpost.com
Editor’s note: This story has been corrected to reflect that Denver’s general assistance budget has increased $40,000 not $400,000.
