Coalition calls on DeWine to streamline economic supports for Ohioans
Posted June 05, 2020 in Press Releases
Ohio can do more to guide newly unemployed Ohioans to apply for food, healthcare, rent and child care assistance
A coalition of health and human service organizations, labor unions, and policy institutes sent Governor DeWine a joint letter yesterday asking him and his administration to make sure that every Ohioan who applies for Unemployment Compensation is also aware of other programs that can help them and their families make ends meet.
Policy Matters Ohio, the Children’s Defense Fund of Ohio, Universal Health Care Action Network of Ohio, the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, Ohio Poverty Law Center, and Advocates for Ohio’s Future issued the following statement:
“Everyone, no matter where they live or what they look like, needs to know that they can keep food on a table and a roof over their head. The COVID-19 crisis has upended the lives of all Ohioans and forcing many employers to lay off people who work for them. That is why our organizations are calling on the DeWine administration to take a few simple steps to help all Ohioans have the basics during this difficult time.
“Over 1.2 million Ohioans have filed unemployment claims since the middle of March. That’s more than the last three years combined. Over 90,000 Ohioans are still waiting for Unemployment Compensation (UC), tens of thousands of Ohioans are waiting for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), and hundreds of thousands of Ohioans who filed for unemployment have been denied. Many have been out of work for nearly three months and are struggling to put food on the table, pay the rent, and afford the basics to support their families.
“Ohio must do more to support the basic health, food security, and safety of Ohioans during this difficult time. The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS) can to connect Ohioans applying for UC to other programs that could provide much needed support until their first UC check arrives. Many Ohioans who have been laid off are now eligible for health care through Medicaid, food assistance through SNAP, cash assistance through OWF, rent, mortgage and utility assistance through PRC, and support for child care through Ohio’s Publicly Funded Child Care program, at least until they begin receiving UC benefits. Ohio has implemented an integrated benefits system to more efficiently determine eligibility and enroll people in SNAP, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). We ask the DeWine Administration to include Unemployment Compensation in Ohio’s integrated benefits system. Ohioans don’t have time to waste.”