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Missoula nonprofit urges political action on rising poverty and welfare cuts
Summary
A Missoula representative said poverty increased in recent years, urged use of Montana’s accessible government channels, and warned that welfare reductions could deepen hardship for low-income families.
Judy Smith of Women’s Opportunity and Resource Development told a Jan. 15 Missoula audience that poverty has grown in Montana and nationwide and urged attendees to use local access to government to press for alternatives to cuts in assistance.
Smith described the state’s general assistance and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) levels, saying Montana provides about 42 percent of the federal poverty level for some general assistance programs and that many recipients must spend a large share of their limited benefits on housing. “Imagine yourself as a single mom with several kids with 42% of poverty trying to find a house in this town,” Smith said.
She warned that proposals in other states to eliminate or sharply reduce benefits for low‑income families could be adopted in Montana and recounted a narrowly avoided proposal discussed in the state legislature to cut general assistance from 42 percent of the poverty level to 39 percent. Smith urged constituents to attend the legislature, question candidates about poverty policy and support programs that have demonstrated results in reducing poverty.
Smith also highlighted practical local impacts: she said more than 70 women in her program attend campus classes to move toward economic self‑sufficiency and would be affected by tuition increases and benefit cuts.
Her message was an appeal for civic participation and targeted political pressure at the state level to protect and expand anti‑poverty programs.
