HACKENSACK, N.J., Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Officials in Hackensack, N.J. said a proposal to close down the city Human Services Dept. had nothing to do with a flap over a homeless man's found money.
The idea to eliminate the agency was called a purely cost-cutting measure and not a response to the bad publicity created when the agency denied welfare benefits to a man who found $850 on the street.
James Brady turned the cash over to police, but found his good deed was punished when it was considered a lump-sum income and resulted in the loss of his $210 monthly stipend.
"I have no problem with cracking down on homeless when they're doing something wrong," Brady, who has since moved into a subsidized apartment, told the Hackensack City Council meeting Tuesday. "When they're not doing something wrong, they should be treated with the same respect as anyone else."
The (Hackensack) Record said department director Agatha Toomey, who now faces the loss of her job, has said she was following city statutes that count windfalls such as lottery winnings against monthly welfare benefits.
Brady told the newspaper some people had urged him to keep the $850 and not tell anyone about it; however, he concluded that would "not be the right thing to do."
