The COVID-19 pandemic has now been ongoing for two years. Opioid overdose deaths are rising. Maternal and infant mortality rates are alarming. The number of children in the foster care system across our state continues to outpace the rest of the nation. Despite these realities, the West Virginia Legislature did very little to pass proactive health-…
Economic Security
Mountain State Spotlight, Beckley Register-Herald - More West Virginians will likely go hungry this fall, after lawmakers failed to extend a program for emergency food assistance. Read the full article. As many as 24,000 adult West Virginians could be pushed off of the state’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, starting in October, if they…
West Virginia MetroNews - West Virginia’s U.S. senators are not committed to passing President Joe Biden’s agenda as presented during last week’s State of the Union address, but Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., recognize possible areas for congressional action. Read the full article. Biden used the 62-minute speech to reinforce the United States’…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - What if you could turn $20 into $40? What if that money could improve the health of your family, giving you the ability to buy fresh fruits and vegetables while freeing up money to pay for much-needed medications? What if, at the same time, that money could improve the economy of your…
The News-Herald - I’ve written many times about the concept; about the relationship between accountability and responsibility, for example. Read the full op-ed. Unfortunately, too often we need to use the word in tandem with the phrase “lack of.” Which is best exemplified by what we often see — or don’t see — from our…
Mountain State Spotlight, Fayette Tribune - West Virginia is sitting on more than $110 million in unspent welfare funds from a federal program that gives families — mostly children — money for essentials like food, clothes and rent. Read the full article. Meanwhile, state food banks reported soaring hunger numbers amid the pandemic, and in December,…
For Immediate Release: February 14, 2022Contact: Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV – In May 2016, West Virginia implemented a pilot program that placed time limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for adults without children in the home (officially referred to as "abled-bodied adults without dependents" or "ABAWDs") across nine counties. Under these time limits, those affected were…
Background In May 2016, West Virginia implemented a pilot program that placed time limits on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) eligibility for adults without children in the home (officially referred to as “able-bodied adults without dependents” or “ABAWDs”) across nine counties. Under these time limits, those affected were ineligible for SNAP if they could not…
Beckley Register-Herald - It is simply laughable that Gov. Jim Justice, at every turn, criticizes President Joe Biden and his administration for everything unrelated to the state of affairs in West Virginia – from “open borders” with Mexico to our nation’s exit from the war in Afghanistan – while taking full credit for an economic…
Good Morning America, ABC News - For millions of parents across the country, the New Year has started off without a monthly deposit from the child tax credit expansion, a deposit of several hundred dollars that parents had relied on since July, when the expansion went into effect. Read the full article. "That was the only income…