HONOLULU — The state Department of Human Services has cut welfare payments to thousands of the state’s most vulnerable residents this month as emergency reserve funds have diminished amid an increased demand for aid.
HONOLULU — The state Department of Human Services has cut welfare payments to thousands of the state’s most vulnerable residents this month as emergency reserve funds have diminished amid an increased demand for aid.
The state began in March to reduce so-called “general assistance” payments by one-third to adults with physical or mental disabilities that prevent them from working, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Sunday.
The cuts mean about 6,700 residents will have their monthly payments reduced from $388 a month to $260 per month.
Social service agencies in the state have said that many of the program’s recipients are homeless or on the brink of homelessness and that the monthly payments help them with their basic needs, the newspaper reported.
Democratic Gov. David Ige’s administration and other state lawmakers have been working to reinstate the benefits, but that process could take months.
