The original poorhouse had been built in 1837, and the red-brick building had been built in 1888 to provide medical care. The need for poorhouses in this country slowly declined with the establishment of the Social Security Act of 1935, and the services provided were divided among federal, state and county agencies. In 1971, the last 100 residents were transferred to the recently built Chemung County Nursing Facility and the building was closed and abandoned.
But seeing the Breesport Almshouse was a reminder of the county's legacy of providing care to those existing at the very bottom rung of society. Changes at the federal level will put the county under ever increasing pressure to provide that care.
Providing social services has been a key part of the county mission, but also one of the biggest challenges. Under the 2026 budget, the county is paying $45 million in for a range of services such as Medicaid, child welfare, special education, etc that are required by state or federal law but without reimbursement. An additional cost is on the way.
SNAP, or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, provides food benefits to low-income families to supplement their grocery budget. About 13,000 Chemung County residents (about 16% of the population) are on the program. The program is administratively run through the counties, but until now the benefit costs had been split 50-50 between the federal government and the states. Typically, SNAP benefits are worth about $332 a month to recipients.
Under the "Big Beautiful Bill," the federal share will drop to 25%, leaving the states to pick up the rest. And it appears NY state will be passing along that extra expense to the counties.
If nothing else is done, this extra cost of $780,000 will hit Chemung County in the Fall of 2027. U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer and other Democrats have been lobbying to include a two-year delay on the SNAP transition into this year's Farm Bill. But the Senate version only includes a one-year delay, and it is unclear whether any delay will be included in a final version, which will likely not be resolved until after the mid-term elections in November.
This squeeze is especially difficult for Chemung County, which has a high poverty rate for such a small county. With 80,000 residents, Chemung County is 29th in total population among counties (counting NYC as one.) But it is 20th in amount of SNAP benefits received and 22nd in number of residents receiving SNAP benefits.
But if the county does not pick up the extra cost:
- More people will struggle for food, pushing them closer to homelessness and destitution. This creates a worse problem for the county to solve.
- More kids will go without enough food. This will impact their education, development and potential for success as adults.
- Local grocery stores will take a hit in revenue.
The federal and state government have stepped back, as if by spending less on SNAP will make the need for SNAP go away. But the county still has an obligation to care for those at the bottom of the ladder.
One of my followers on Facebook writes: "Rather than lament the lack of funding from 'above', the county ought to be making an attempt to raise more Chemung County residents OUT of poverty....thus reducing the NEED for social services expenditures."
Yes, well-paying jobs are the answer, but the county has been struggling with this question for years. It would be difficult to find the answer before these cuts hit.
Somehow we need to turn Chemung County into the kind of place that higher-paying employers would want to locate to. We need to draw companies here for reasons better than offering a tax deal. I don't know what that would be, but finding the answer to that question would solve many of the issues facing the county.
But in the meantime, we need to do what we can to save those dangling from the precipice. To let them fall, would mean our recovery as a county will take that much longer.
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