Take Action Now to Preserve Supportive Housing Funding!

Staff, Participants, Board, Interns and Volunteers of Deborah’s Place:

Please read the following and act today and tomorrow to help ensure that funding for supportive housing services provided to organizations like Deborah’s Place stays in the Illinois state budget. This is money that funds services at all of our sites.

Deborah’s Place is supporting an increase in the state income tax if there are provisions to safeguard funding for supportive housing and services.

What is happening:

The state is $12 billion in debt. Federal economic stimulus funding will fill in $4 billion, leaving us $8 billion in debt.

Gov. Quinn proposed an income tax increase with protections for low and moderate income households.

There are only 40 votes in the House for an income tax increase. 60 votes are needed for it to pass.

The House is putting together a “Doomsday” Budget that may come out on Monday. It has only funding for things that get us federal funding, either Medicaid reimbursement or stimulus funding. Everything else, including supportive housing service funding is either zeroed out, cut by 75%, or cut by 25%. This budget is a scare tactic, but it will be very real if we cannot generate the rest of the votes needed to pass an income tax increase.

What you and the Deborah’s Place community can do to save state funding for supportive housing services:

1. Call your state senators and representatives in their Springfield offices.

Not sure who your state legislators are? Click here, and click “by address”. Type in the address of your agency, your supportive housing, or your own address. Click “Search”. Click on the names of your STATE senator and your STATE representative (the second and third names on the list). Their contact information will come up. Call their Springfield offices. Know who your state legislators are but need their Springfield phone number? Go to ilga.gov. Under the headings Senate and House, click on Members. Find your rep and click on their name. Their contact info will come up.

2. Give your name and address, say you are a constituent and a registered voter. Ask: “Will you vote for an income tax increase to protect the funding for supportive housing and other vital services to keep 8,300 men, women, and children from returning to homelessness?”
3. If you actually talk with your legislator, wait from her or him to respond and make a note of what he or she says. If you leave a message for your legislator, leave the above question, and ask for a return call from your legislator. Leave your phone number.
4. If you do not feel comfortable saying that you support an income tax increase, you can say that you support revenue enhancement that will ensure that funding is not cut for supportive housing and services.

Please let Audrey know if you make the calls! Thanks everyone for helping to make our voices heard.