Image via Wikipedia If you are a veteran the US Department of Veteran Affairs has available a Special Adaptive Housing Program to remodel your home to make it accessible for you. Veterans and service members who have service acquired disabilities may be qualified to receive a grant for construction ,or for the remodel of their existing residence to meet their special needs. This grant is designed to provide a barrier-free living environment in order for the recipients to enjoy an independent lifestyle that they may not otherwise be capable of acquiring due to disability encumbered during their service.
There are 2 grant facts sheet that provide
all the specifics of these grants.
1. Grant Fact Sheet A
2. Grant Fact Sheet B
The VA website has all of the forms, phone numbers, and information available and easy
to locate. The site is complete with videos of the possible construction and improvements.
If you have ever been in the unfortunate predicament of being arrested, you know that if you cannot afford an attorney one will be appointed to you. However, if you need to pursue a legal matter and meet the federal poverty guidelines services may be provided to you pro bono. The phrase pro bono publico is derived from the Latin meaning "for the public good". Pro bono services are provided by lawyers to individual with low-income and also because of their belief in a certain cause. Pro bono programs and legal aid are also available for senior citizens, the disabled, victims of domestic violence, and the military that can fall outside these income requirements. Legal aid can provide information as well as advice on litigation and serve as an appellate advocacy. There are many resources for legal aid and pro bono services that can be found on the Internet. For more information go to the American Bar Association public resource page where you will find numerous links to educate you on these services.
Under ethical rules, the ABA recommends that US attorneys donate 50 hours per year to pro bono services. Larger law firms often fall short of this quota. For about 40% of the legal cases that occur each year for the low-income only 20% are met. In 2007, Stanford Law School students founded Building a Better Legal Profession . This website provides information for future lawyers about various law firms and also about their pro bono participation. This, in affect, has encouraged larger firms to increase their participation in pro bono programs.
Listed are some sites that can guide you to lawyers that provide pro bono services:
Do you need to make repairs on your home that you simply cannot afford? I remember as a single mother so many things that I left in disrepair due to the fact that I simply could not afford to fix them. There are two great places you can turn to right now to get you on your way to inexpensively remodeling, repairing, and redecorating your abode. The first place I would venture to is http://www.craigslist.com/. If you have not been to this site you have truly missed out. Not only can you get items that you want and need deeply discounted, you can also find amazing things for free. Just last week I was showing a young man this site, and low and behold someone was giving away a entire double-wide for free. The kitchen had fire damage, but other than that this was a pretty decent looking home. The recipient had to remove it from the site within seven days. This was well worth it for someone who needed a home. That is not the first time that I have seen a home on there for free. You will find junk on there too, but alot of people want to keep things out of the landfill and will post items for that purpose. I have found another place in the last 2 weeks that I have fell in love with, the Habitat Restore. Habitat ReStores accepts donated building materials, appliances, and furniture and resales them for a fraction of the cost. Some Metro ReStores offer coupons and some have pickup services for donated goods. You can go to www.habitat.org/env/restores.aspx to find a location near you. There are approximately 600 stores located throughout the US and Canada. Go check one out today and check back often to find what you are looking for. All proceeds benefit Habitat for Humanity.
Yes if you have a crisis and need help fast, then pick up the phone and dial 211. 211 is a national collaborative of the United Way World and the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems. 211 is a number that you can call that connects you with your local chapter. They can provide critical information about services that are available to you in your community. Your chapter can provide you with information about services that are available to assist you with housing. food, clothing, employment, counseling, health-care,senior and childcare services. They can also assist you with services that are available form teen pregnancy to alcohol and drug intervention and rehabilitation and much, much more. They have an exhaustive list of referral information for all most any critical health or human service issue you might encounter. As of November 2009 211 serves over 241 million Americans in 47 states plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The remaining states are in various stages of planning for implementation of the 211 system with new services been update weekly. Furthermore,as of September 2008 the 211 system has expanded its services to Canada. You can find out more about this expansion at http://www.211canada.ca/ .
As for the expansion in the remaining states in American, you can join in their efforts by contacting your representative in congress and urge them in co-sponsoring the Calling for 211 Act by signing the United Way petition (S.211/H.R.211). If you have had or know of someone that has utilized the 211 calling system, could you shared with our readers if you or their needs where met?
With some diligent searching, I was able to find a few sites that offer assistance. Most of my queries turn up suggestion on ways to decrease future water bills, which I will get back to later in this article. First, you could check with the Water Company and see if they offer a hardship plan or a payment plan for arrears. Some states offer assistance, but it is very limited. Next, you should contact your church,, or churches in your area, to see if they have a benevolence fund to assist with utilities. You can also contact the United Way and they can direct you toward organizations that can help. If you are not on a federal assistance program and you can usually meet your monthly payment, you can go to http://www.modestneeds.org/ and fill out an application. They are an organization that helps out those who by unforeseeable circumstances have fallen behind in their bills and just needs a little help to get back on their feet. That have grants up to 1,000.00 available. You can also receive assistance from American Water in the form of hardship grants, monthly service discount, and complimentary water-saving devices along with education on conserving this valuable asset. You can go to there website at http://www.amwater.com/ to see if your in one of the participating states or you can contact their Customer Service Center at 1-866-736-6420 for more information. To learn more about water conservation go to www.epa.gov/watersense. Watersense, which is a partner assistance program sponsored by the EPA, encourages water efficient products bearing the Water Sense label that can save you up to 20% on your water bill. You can also visit http://www.greenerchoices.org/ to get the Green Ratings for the most water efficient appliances.
To some of us, the hardest decision concerning dinner was which meal to prepare, or if we should opt for dining out. Increasing numbers of people today are finding that they are lacking the resources in their cupboards and in their wallets. According to the statistics at http://www.reuters.com/ , one in nine Americans, in June, of this year was assisted by the food stamp program. If you belong to a low income household, you may qualify for SNAP formerly know as the federal Food Stamp Program. To find out if you are eligible ,visit their site at http://www.fns.usda.gov/ and utilize their pre-screening tool. If you are you can fill out an application at your local office. There telephone numbers are listed in the government section of the phone book or you can call the SNAP hotline listed on their website. You should also check out http://www.angelfoodministries.com/ for discount on food purchase. They are a non-profit, non-denominational organization that provides food relief. They have a button on their site that you can click and put your contact information and a case worker in your area will contact you. Another resource is http://www.feedingamerica.org/ formerly know as second harvest.org provides links to local food shelters in your area.
Phone service has become a necessity in today's society and under a congressional mandate the Federal Universal Service Fund supports Lifeline Assistance and Link-Up America programs. Income-eligible customers are those that are at or below 135% of the income poverty guidelines set by the State and/or Federal government and received some type of State or Federal assistance. To qualify you must also have a U.S. Postal Address and no one else in the household can already be participating in Lifeline services. Lifeline service can provide a discount on basic monthly phone service for up to $10.00 and Link-Up American will pay for 1/2 of the installation fee or activation fee for service up $30.00 dollar and will also allow the rest of the fee to be put on a deferred schedule, interest free. Native American Indians and Alaskan Tribal Communities can get an enhanced version of these services. To find out more about eligibility requirements for your state or how to apply go to http://www.lifelinesupport.org/ or call your local telephone company. For more information you can call a toll free number 1-888-641-8722, but you cannot apply at this number. You can also go to http://www.lifeline.gov/ for more info. Safelink wireless offers Lifeline services. They will provide income eligible customers with a free cell phone, free cell phone service and free allotted amount of minutes each month with the option of caller Id,call waiting and voicemail. Unused minutes do roll over, and if more minutes are needed customers can purchase TracPhone cards at many local retailers. You can find out more at http://www.safelinkwireless.com/. You can also go to www.usafreephone.com if you receive any type of federal assistance and sign up, or just call 1-877-650-8855 and get your home phone free for the first month and then it is about $25.00 a month after that. If you are not income eligible and have high speed Internet service, there is a great site at http://www.voip-news.com/ that list 102 of the best free phone services on the web. This site provides information on everything from free cell phone service to free web casting. If you know of any additional free or discounted phone services feel free to drop us a line.
Image via Wikipedia If you are a veteran the US Department of Veteran Affairs has available a Special Adaptive Housing Program to remodel your home to make it accessible for you. Veterans and service members who have service acquired disabilities may be qualified to receive a grant for construction ,or for the remodel of their existing residence to meet their special needs. This grant is designed to provide a barrier-free living environment in order for the recipients to enjoy an independent lifestyle that they may not otherwise be capable of acquiring due to disability encumbered during their service.
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