Pittsylvania County assistance programs seeing increase

The number of people receiving food-purchase assistance is on the rise, up more than 10 percent over last year and is almost double that of 2004, according to the latest figures from Pittsylvania County Social Services.

“We’re seeing a lot of people we’ve never seen before,” said Jay Brown, supervisor of the county Social Services’ Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program, or SNAP.

There are 4,054 SNAP cases, including families and individuals, in Pittsylvania County as of September, compared to 3,578 in September 2008. Just five years ago, the county had 2,370 SNAP cases, Brown said.

Job layoffs and employer cutbacks of work hours in a recessionary economy are the main culprits causing the increase. Though unemployment in the Danville-Pittsylvania County metropolitan area fell from 12.9 percent in July to 12.5 percent in August, joblessness remains much higher than August 2008’s 7.7 percent rate, according to the most recent numbers from the Virginia Employment Commission.

Beneficiaries no longer receive food stamps, but instead get a debit-type card they can swipe at the register, Brown said. The federal government switched to the cards to save printing costs and ease the social stigma for those receiving the assistance, Brown said.

“It’s worked real well so far,” Brown said.

Cardholders each have an account the government replenishes at the beginning of the month, Brown said. A family of four grossing $2,389 a month or less in income qualifies for SNAP, while an individual can make no more than $1,174 in monthly gross income to be eligible.

Maximum assistance allotments are $200 per month for an individual and $668 per month for a family of four. Benefits last for a year before beneficiaries apply for a renewal — if they still qualify.

Medicaid rolls are also creeping up in Pittsylvania County, said Kathy Ludwick, the county’s Medicaid supervisor. The number of cases has steadily risen, moving up from 5,831 cases in September 2007 to 6,050 the same time last year. As of this past September, there were 6,359 cases, Ludwick said.

Job losses and employers dropping or cutting health care benefits are factors in the increase, Ludwick said. Social Security beneficiaries receive notification if their income limit is within eligibility for certain types of Medicaid, which is also contributing to the increase, she said.