9-19-12: Courtesy of WKBW. Even as unemployment goes down in Erie County, there’s been 49-percent increase in people needing food stamps since 2009. Since the recession hit, the number of requests for public assistance in Erie County keeps going up. Requests for both food stamps and Medicaid have gone up about a thousand since last year. So far in 2012, there have been 28237 applications for Medicaid assistance. This time last year, there had been 27209 requests. There have also been 27097 food stamp requests this year — an increase from the 25884 requests from January to August of 2011. There have also been 2801 requests for homeless assistance this year — up from 2221 requests this time in 2011. Carol Dankert, the Erie County Social Services Commissioner, explains “many people have just exhausted all of their informal supports. They are hopping from friend to friend, relative to relative and there’s nothing left for them.”
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