The cost is $70 to $80 a week, and the welfare allowance for a single person is $140 a month.

They say the homeless are drawn to a place by its weather or welfare allowance or reputation for tolerance.

But the majority of households, he said, "are receiving welfare allowances for rents that are very low, about $400 a month."

Tenants must pay 30 percent of the rent and that money can be furnished through a welfare allowance.

The sharp cuts in welfare allowances are also taking their toll.

Her welfare allowances were discontinued, leaving her family in severe financial difficulties.

Rents, paid by the tenants typically using welfare allowances, will cover building maintenance and the costs of a three-person staff.

In that year, the welfare allowance was 15 cents per person per day, and there was no unemployment insurance or Social Security.

New York has not raised the welfare basic allowance since 1990, despite a cost-of-living increase of 25 percent.

It's more because the state pays only a quarter of the welfare allowances of families eligible for public assistance under Federal programs.