Help with Bills in New York
Single mothers and low-income residents of New York mostly experience financial strain when it comes to paying their utility bills. Whether you own your own home or live in a rental apartment, paying your bills when you don’t have a steady source of income can be challenging. New York State has a program to help you pay your bills and make ends meet. This article discusses utility assistance available in New York to help you pay your bills. Happy reading.
Help with Medical Bills
Resource, Entitlement and Advocacy Program (REAP): The Social Work Services Department offers to REAP at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The program is to help low-income citizens and single mothers looking for help with medical bills. You can have access to the health insurance services offered by the government through REAP, including Child Health Plus and Medicaid through the health insurance marketplace in New York State. The program offers services to patients in one of the health care facilities in the health care system of Mount Sinai. Visit https://www.mountsinai.org/locations/mount-sinai/support-services/social-work/resources for more details.
Help with Water Bills
Home Water Assistance Program (HWAP): HWAP is dedicated to helping low-income homeowners pay their water and sewer bills. The program is available for homeowners living in New York City. You are eligible if your property is a one, two, three, or four-family home. Looking for assistance to pay your water bills? Well, you don’t have to enroll in HWAP. You will automatically receive the program benefits if you meet the program requirements, including residency and income limits. See more at https://www1.nyc.gov/site/dep/pay-my-bills/home-water-assistance-program.page.
Help with Telephone Bills
Lifeline Telephone Service: The New York Lifeline Telephone Service program works with telephone providers to assistance low-income eligible homeowners, including single moms to cut on phone bills. The program helps you stay connected. The program gives a discount on home telephone service or wireless service. Note that the discount can only be applied in one line per household. The program benefits include voice and mobile data usage allowances, additional discounts, and bill credit. The amount of money you can save on your telephone bills and the program benefits depend on your provider. Find out more at https://www3.dps.ny.gov/W/AskPSC.nsf/All/01BC8E76E515299785257FA2006AE2F7.
Help with Heating Bills
Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP): The purpose of HEAP is to provide energy assistance to the low-income people in New York. The program works to help low-income groups settle bills related to cooling or heating. The program has emergency benefits for qualifying homeowners. The goal is to keep families out of cold weather. You may qualify for the benefits if you meet the low-income limits in your area. The amount of assistance you may receive depends on your household income and size. Find out more at http://otda.ny.gov/programs/heap/.
Help with Transportation
Community Arranged Resident Transportation Program (CART): CART has helped low-income senior residents of New York State with transportation services for more than 30 years. Thousands of senior passengers, including those in wheelchairs get a chance to get to their destination, thanks to the CART program. Through this program, you can get anywhere you want to go; hospitals, places of worship, cultural events, or theatres. Learn more about the program at https://www.nyfsc.org/support-services/free-transportation/.
Help with Electricity Bills
ConEdison – Community Power: You can save on electricity bills through community power. How does it work? By participating, you get a share of clean solar energy generated by the panels installed on New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) building roofs. The panel produces energy every month, part of which is yours since you are a program participant. The energy is then converted to dollars and made to appear in your electricity bill as a credit. You must be a Con Edison customer and meet low-income limits to qualify for assistance. Learn more at https://www.coned.com/en/save-money/rebates-incentives-tax-credits/rebates-incentives-tax-credits-for-residential-customers/income-eligible-renters-and-homeowners/save-on-your-energy-bill-with-community-solar.
Help with Food
SNAP: SNAP helps low-income homeowners in New York buy food. SNAP gives eligible low-income citizens benefits to allow them to buy food at local grocery stores. Want to know if you qualify for the program assistance? Well, Nutrition Outreach and Education Program (NOEP) helps you find out if you are eligible. The program helps you gather all the documents and helps complete and apply for SNAP assistance. Learn more at https://hungersolutionsny.org/find-food-help/snap/.
Help with Household Items
America’s Best Donation Pickup Program: This program is designed to support low-income veterans. Scheduling a free donation pickup means helping veterans with household items you may not be using. The program is run by the Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA). Read more at https://vva.org/who-we-are/membership-2/.
Help with Clothing
DonateNYC provides New York residents with to donate and obtain second-hand clothes, shoes, and accessories. Whether you are single mom seeking help with clothing, a community organization seeking donations, or a business in need to offer surplus, donateNYC can help you meet your needs. Read more at https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/donate/index.shtml.
