Help with Bills in Massachusetts
The State of Massachusetts is the most populated state in region of New England and this makes it even more difficult for single moms to find decent help when it comes to paying their utility bills. We have compiled this detailed article to make it less challenging for single moms to find programs designed to help them.
Help with Electricity Bills
The National Grid is a well-known and trusted energy company that supplies electricity and other forms of energy to customers in New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts. The company is owned by investors so the government doesn’t really control how they operate. The National Grid has an assistance program for income-eligible clients. They don’t pay a portion of the client’s electric bill, but they offer discounts on electricity rates. In order to determine if you qualify, you first have to be a customer of the company, then you can fill out the discount rate application and they’ll get back to you. Get more information on this on their website: https://www.nationalgridus.com/MA-Home/Bill-Help/Payment-Assistance-Program
Help with Heating Bills
The Massachusetts Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program can help single moms pay their heating bill, if they fall under the minimum income and they meet other requirements. This program is administered in almost all of the US and what is does is it makes energy more affordable for low-income people by paying out benefits to eligible candidates. Those benefits are meant to be used on the energy bill. Also, they can increase the amount of money a household will get if there is proof stating that the house needs a relatively high volume of energy. An example of such a home would be one containing elder citizens or small children, babies and toddlers. Find out how to apply on their site at https://www.benefits.gov/benefit/1576
Help With Phone Bills
The Lifeline Program is a federally-administered program that sets to make communication and internet available to those who can’t afford it. To get on board with Lifeline, residents have to subscribe and from there they may pick whether they’d like a discount on their landline service, their internet service or their monthly data plan. However, they can’t pick all three. This is especially beneficial to single moms who would like to work from home but don’t have the necessary internet connection to make it work. If you’ve read the requirements and you’ve established that you’re eligible, you can either apply directly online or via mail. Furthermore, once you’re official receiving benefits from Lifeline, you’ll have to provide yearly certification that you’re still eligible in terms of income brackets. Get in touch on their website: https://www.mass.gov/how-to/apply-for-a-discounted-communications-service-through-the-lifeline-program
Help with Healthcare and Medical Bills
The Medicaid project is a well-known medical assistance benefit across the country and the Children’s Assistance Program serves the same purpose except it only targets children, as the name suggests. What the state of Massachusetts has done is it has combined these two programs to create the MassHealth which is basically ideal for single moms and their kids. Benefits that you can get with the MassHealth are a decent amount of doctor visits, prescription drugs and decent hospital stays. If you want to apply and find out about everything else that the program covers, you can take a look at their website: https://www.mass.gov/topics/masshealth
Help with Food and Meals
The Women, Infants, Children Nutrition Program (WIC) supplies healthy foods to not only single moms but all eligible moms across the state of Massachusetts. Once you send in your application and it’s approved, you’ll receive a WIC card that you may use to purchase a pre-determined amount of food from selected stores. In addition to that, you will also be educated on healthy breastfeeding and how to adopt a healthy eating habit. Get more details here: https://www.mass.gov/wic-information-for-participants