NBC 10 Boston and Telemundo: A new pilot program aims to help women experiencing the benefits cliff effect

Thank you to NBC 10 Boston for providing this excellent coverage of the Benefit Cliff dynamic and the Bridge To Prosperity pilot.  An excerpt is below, as well as links to the full video interviews in both English and Spanish.  

Making too much money for public assistance, not enough to make ends meet

Article Excerpt: 

“As soon as I got a job, those benefits started getting cut,” Liza Montalban [WMM program graduate] said. “And unfortunately, the way the system works, a lot of the times they count your gross income and not your net pay. So what I was making on paper was a lot more than what I was bringing home. So I really was relying on those benefits, and when those benefits started getting decreased or completely cut, I found myself in another difficult situation again, even though I was working.”

This experience is known as the benefits cliff effect. Eligibility for public benefits like food, healthcare, housing and childcare assistance are based on income. The cliff effect happens when families’ income increases enough that they lose eligibility for these benefits, but can’t yet afford these needs on their own.

In Massachusetts, over 700,000 individuals live at or below the poverty line and face benefits cliff issues, according to Women’s Money Matters. Their research shows housing assistance can drop off once a recipient makes $20 an hour; food assistance can drop off once a recipient makes $22 an hour.

Montalban was invited to participate in a pilot program called Bridge to Prosperity that aims to bridge the gap between benefits and wages, with monthly cash payments that make up for the value of lost benefits, ranging from $300 to $700, over two or three years, depending on the group.

“This program has been life-changing for me,” she said. “It doesn’t sound like much, but it immediately supplemented the food stamps. We lost all of it.”

Participants are also paired with financial and career coaches to help them navigate the transition from public benefits assistance as they climb the economic ladder.

“We look at what are her goals from a professional perspective as well as financial perspective and we work together on a plan that allows her to take steps and action hopefully to meet her goals,” said Raffaella Molteni, Montalban’s coach.

Thank you to Liza for sharing your story. Watch the video in the links blow to see the full interview!

Link to NBC 10 Boston Interview

Link to Telemundo Interview

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