How Funding Cuts Affect Locally
League Meeting Shows Community Impacts
Approximately 50 League and community members gathered Nov.19 at the Bloomington Public Library to learn the impact of government funding cuts on our community. The Documentation Project, co-chaired by John Freese and Camille Taylor, has taken on the mission of capturing the human impacts of these cuts on our local service providers and their clients.
Representatives of three involved organizations detailed their experience managing programs and working with clients who have been affected. Katie Buckley, County Director of the U of I Extension, described the losses and inefficiencies created in eliminating SNAP program education funding. This program helps people navigate the system to get their SNAP benefits, as well as how to best use them for healthy meals. Anthony Grant, Assistant County Administrator, explained how broadband funding cuts to rural fiber optic network construction have hurt services to rural customers, including libraries and schools, and resulted in a loss of jobs as the cuts affect investment in these areas. Matt Burgess, CEO of Home Sweet Home Ministries (HSHM), discussed the temporary cuts and current delay in funding the Senior Community Services Employment and how these affected income and morale of seniors in that program. Losing these workers also meant having to draw workers from other tasks at HSHM.
A lively Q&A session followed the panel presentation. Participants wanted to know more about the human impacts of these funding cuts and what steps could be taken to alleviate them. One major takeaway for the League of Women Voters is the critical nature of informed voting in the next elections.
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