I deal with life and death every day on the job. You might think I am a doctor or nurse, a fireman or EMT. Actually, I’m a county eligibility worker, and I am a first responder of a different kind.
Each day, I connect Californians experiencing poverty to life-saving healthcare and food assistance in Ventura County. With devastating federal cuts to food aid and health care on the horizon, millions of families across California will depend on first responders like me to access vital safety net services.
When people walk into a county human services office or reach out over the phone, I see the fear in their eyes. I hear the desperation in their voices. A mother is hungry, but she’s more worried about where her child’s next meal will come from. A father is sick but can’t afford to see a doctor. He fears getting sicker means missing work — and his rent payment.
I know what it’s like to rely on safety net programs; I grew up with them. I remember my mom bringing a grocery bag full of documentation to the county office each year; she wanted to make sure she had everything required to keep our family enrolled. For a smart woman, the paperwork was still difficult to navigate.
I also saw the change in my mom when she was no longer afraid of hunger.
That’s what inspired me to pursue this career. An eligibility worker made the difference for our family; I want to do the same for families in my community.
If state policymakers care about all California families, they will fight to protect people who count on Medi-Cal and CalFresh against federal cuts by investing in eligibility workers.
With H.R. 1, Donald Trump and his allies in Congress cut nearly $1 trillion from health care and food aid, creating what they hoped to be insurmountable burdens to staying enrolled. They shamefully expanded a three-month time limit on food benefits to include families with children, knowing it would mean they would go hungry. Medi-Cal eligibility checks will happen every six months, instead of every 12, literally doubling the paperwork required for health care.
When families face complicated requirements, eligibility workers help them navigate the system and stay connected to life-saving support. We will need time, resources, and extra training to prepare for what’s coming.
An estimated 2.8 million people enrolled in Medi-Cal will need a county eligibility worker’s help to navigate the new requirements. If we can’t respond fast enough, people will miss deadlines, go hungry, and be turned away from health care.
Our Ventura County community is largely dependent on low-wage agricultural jobs; we’re also a community collectively traumatized by the terror and violence ICE brought to our doorsteps. These new federal cuts will bring more devastation — but we can stop them.
Eligibility workers are ready to step up for our communities, just as we helped millions of Californians enroll in health care under the Affordable Care Act. We helped families stay connected to care in the wake of the pandemic. Now, we need state leaders to step in and be our heroes.
Governor Newsom and lawmakers can stand up to Trump’s draconian cuts to needy families by expanding the ranks of county eligibility workers who keep families connected to services. This modest investment will more than pay for itself by preventing widespread hunger and illness.
As someone who grew up in poverty, it’s not lost on me that Trump and his MAGA allies cut Medi-Cal and CalFresh to pay for some of the largest corporate tax cuts in history. Or that corporations benefiting from this windfall are the same ones who pay so little and offer such scant benefits, their workers are forced to turn to the safety net. Workers like me are leading the fight to fix an economy rigged by corporations.
Meanwhile, state lawmakers must join us in keeping people connected to life-sustaining services. We are the first responders to care in our communities, but we need your support, and families and communities depend on it.
Chris Palma is an eligibility worker in Ventura County and a member of SEIU Local 721.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: California must invest in our first responders to poverty | Your Turn
Reporting by Chris Palma, Your Turn / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
