Social services available in New York

[sunshine]

So, if you or anyone you know receives any type of government assistance in NY, can you tell me if they are able to live on it and homeschool? I have a friend who lives there with her parents and all she can get is 200 a month food stamps. She has a 10yo boy. He attends the local school that she swears is great. She is in lower mid NY. A rural area. She is attending school for an LPN license and that is paid for but other than that she doesn't seem to qualify for anything. On the other hand she knows another single mother who lives in a HUD, 4bd duplex that pays 80 a month rent.

 

Who would I contact to see what is available for single mothers without a BA degree and no income? I tried to google Social services of NY and Childrens Department of services but my computer couldn't seem to find a page. Thanks for any input.

[sunshine]

Wow, 26 reads and no posts. Anyone have any info?? Or suggestions for direction to proceed?

[SonshineLearner]

:grouphug::lurk5:

 

I don't...but here's a pop and a hug:-)

 

Carrie:bigear:

[sunshine]

thank you. I love popcorn. Now I can sleep. :001_smile:

[Jean in Newcastle]

I don't live in NY so I don't have any personal experience but perhaps one of these might help.

 

http://www.health.state.ny.us/health_care/medicaid/ldss.htm

 

http://www.dfa.state.ny.us/

 

http://www.ocfs.state.ny.us/main/localdss.asp

[joannqn]

Help with child care

TANF - Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is a cash assistance program.

 

This link at the TANF site gives information for how to apply for TANF, food stamps, home energy assistance.

 

This website seems to be the main website where to begin the process of applying for various benefits including the ones listed in the last link and health insurance.

 

Here is the website for HUD housing.

[Renee in NC]

I don't know about in NY, but the waiting list for HUD housing is 5 years long here (at least.) I think it is because the homeless and domestic violence victims get first dibs on vouchers.

[Journey]

I have sent you a pm

[Mommyfaithe]

So, if you or anyone you know receives any type of government assistance in NY, can you tell me if they are able to live on it and homeschool? I have a friend who lives there with her parents and all she can get is 200 a month food stamps. She has a 10yo boy. He attends the local school that she swears is great. She is in lower mid NY. A rural area. She is attending school for an LPN license and that is paid for but other than that she doesn't seem to qualify for anything. On the other hand she knows another single mother who lives in a HUD, 4bd duplex that pays 80 a month rent.

 

Who would I contact to see what is available for single mothers without a BA degree and no income? I tried to google Social services of NY and Childrens Department of services but my computer couldn't seem to find a page. Thanks for any input.

 

26 looks and no replieS was probably because they were busy picking their jaw off the floor. When has SS become a way of life?? I am so tired of supporting this system! My taxes and my HARD EARNED money should go to help MY family.... Sorry this blase' attitude about what you are qualified and entitled to BURNS ME UP!! Let her finish her LPN...get a job and work around a homeschool schedule if she wants to....WHY ON EARTH should I work full-time...to pay for her to homeschool her child??

 

This country is out of it's mind!

~~Faithe (Who is finally ticked off enough of this gross misuse of MY money to say something!!!! And not give a darn what anyone thinks of it!!!)

UGH!

[Mommyfaithe]

I don't know about in NY, but the waiting list for HUD housing is 5 years long here (at least.) I think it is because the homeless and domestic violence victims get first dibs on vouchers.

 

Well that sucks!! Why should they get dibs?? (total sarcasm here..ok?)

[Renee in NC]

Well that sucks!! Why should they get dibs?? (total sarcasm here..ok?)

 

It actually does create problems in that people lie about domestic violence in order to get into a house.:glare: And people often leave a place to live (as in a bedroom in a friend's house) in order to be "homeless" and get a voucher. So it isn't as clear cut as it would seem.

[plansrme]

WHY ON EARTH should I work full-time...to pay for her to homeschool her child??

 

This country is out of it's mind!

~~Faithe (Who is finally ticked off enough of this gross misuse of MY money to say something!!!! And not give a darn what anyone thinks of it!!!)

UGH!

 

Homeschooling is not a Constitutional right. I saw nothing in the OP that indicates extenuating circumstances that should justify additional public expenditures on her behalf.

 

Terri

[sunshine]

This particular woman is the hardest working woman I have ever met. She was married for over 15 years to a heartless, abusive drunk. He didn't hold a job for the last 7 years of their marriage. She never went without one. She cleaned houses, scrubbed rich women's toilets, took care of 2 children, attended church 3 times a week with children in tow. Covered her husbands crap, protected her children from his drunkeness by taking them to movies, friends houses, church functions, etc. The last 5 years of her marriage she sat on the side of the road selling shrimp in the blistering Georgia sun 9 months a year AFTER she cleaned two 4000 sq ft houses every day. She put her kids in aftercare at public school and then when she was hot, sweaty and stinking of shrimp, she did homework with them. Because she was so busy supporting the family single handedly, she missed that her oldest was getting into a bad crowd and that the drunk was beating the younger one. So she sent her then 6 year old to NY to her parents house- a heartwrenching decision and filed for divorce here in GA. It cost her all the equity in the house, 10,000 because the idiot fought for sole custody with his court appointed attorney who quit in the middle of the proceedings because he was such an idiot. But the older child who was 14 almost 15 wanted to stay in GA with his friends and told the judge he wanted to stay with his father, knowing he would have total and complete freedom to pursue even more unhealthy behaviors. The drunk idiot almost got the house because of this. We all had to testify against the idiot and the 6 year old had to be brought down to talk to the judge about the physical abuse.

She sold the house with 500 left out of the equity because the lawyer got the rest. All she had ever worked for. She left with a 5000 credit card bill because the idiot put 2 computers on her credit card. And no they would not call it fraud because they were married when he did it. SO it was declare bankruptcy or pay it off. She moved to NY with her combative 15 yr old, went to work at Price Choppers grocery store because she had 500 dollars to her name and had to live with her parents who live in a rural depressed area. There are no jobs that pay above 8.50 an hour to someone without a degree. In GA she made between 400-800 a week depending on the shrimp and now she makes at the most 150.00 because of the horrendeous NY taxes.

SO I guess she is using her own taxes that she paid for the last 27 years of her working productive life to try to get a degree and feed her children so that she will be less of a burden to her 70+ year old parents who babysit her kids while she goes to school from 8 to 3 and then works at Price Choppers in the deli department til 9pm, tucks her now 9 year old in bed and does homework til 11pm. Gas is 3.00 a gallon and she can't afford a Prius and go all green and stuff. So 1/3 of her wages goes in the tank of her 12 year old van. Did I mention she is paying off that $5,000 credit card bill on $8.50 an hour?

 

Laying around sucking up welfare, yeah that's what she is doing.

Edited December 29, 2009 by sunshine

[Renee in NC]

This particular woman is the hardest working woman I have ever met. She was married for over 15 years to a heartless, abusive drunk. He didn't hold a job for the last 7 years of their marriage. She never went without one. She cleaned houses, scrubbed rich women's toilets, took care of 2 children, attended church 3 times a week with children in tow. Covered her husbands crap, protected her children from his drunkeness by taking them to movies, friends houses, church functions, etc. The last 5 years of her marriage she sat on the side of the road selling shrimp in the blistering Georgia sun 9 months a year AFTER she cleaned two 4000 sq ft houses every day. She put her kids in aftercare at public school and then when she was hot, sweaty and stinking of shrimp, she did homework with them. Because she was so busy supporting the family single handedly, she missed that her oldest was getting into a bad crowd and that the drunk was beating the younger one. So she sent her then 6 year old to NY to her parents house- a heartwrenching decision and filed for divorce here in GA. It cost her all the equity in the house, 10,000 because the idiot fought for sole custody with his court appointed attorney who quit in the middle of the proceedings because he was such an idiot. But the older child who was 14 almost 15 wanted to stay in GA with his friends and told the judge he wanted to stay with his father, knowing he would have total and complete freedom to pursue even more unhealthy behaviors. The drunk idiot almost got the house because of this. We all had to testify against the idiot and the 6 year old had to be brought down to talk to the judge about the physical abuse.

She sold the house with 500 left out of the equity because the lawyer got the rest. All she had ever worked for. She left with a 5000 credit card bill because the idiot put 2 computers on her credit card. And no they would not call it fraud because they were married when he did it. SO it was declare bankruptcy or pay it off. She moved to NY with her combative 15 yr old, went to work at Price Choppers grocery store because she had 500 dollars to her name and had to live with her parents who live in a rural depressed area. There are no jobs that pay above 8.50 an hour to someone without a degree. In GA she made between 400-800 a week depending on the shrimp and now she makes at the most 150.00 because of the horrendeous NY taxes.

SO I guess she is using her own taxes that she paid for the last 27 years of her working productive life to try to get a degree and feed her children so that she will be less of a burden to her 70+ year old parents who babysit her kids while she goes to school from 8 to 3 and then works at Price Choppers in the deli department til 9pm, tucks her now 9 year old in bed and does homework til 11pm. Gas is 3.00 a gallon and she can't afford a Prius and go all green and stuff. So 1/3 of her wages goes in the tank of her 12 year old van.

 

Laying around sucking up welfare, yeah that's what she is doing.

 

And this is why stereotypes stink.

:grouphug:

[mommaduck]

And this is why stereotypes stink.

:grouphug:

 

:iagree:

[plansrme]

Tough story (though I wonder why anyone stays with a drunk husband for 15 years), but I still don't see why she deserves public assistance to homeschool.

 

Terri

[Renee in NC]

Tough story (though I wonder why anyone stays with a drunk husband for 15 years), but I still don't see why she deserves public assistance to homeschool.

 

Terri

 

It would cost less than what it costs to have her child in school? It seems that she just needs something temporarily so that she can see her dc - I don't think it is so much about homeschooling. Once she gets her degree she'll have enough to get by.

 

Besides, it doesn't matter if you think she deserves it or not. Your elected representatives make the laws that allow or don't allow certain things. You may not like it, but that is the way it is.

[lgm]

>>SO I guess she is using her own taxes that she paid for the last 27 years of her working productive life to try to get a degree and feed her children so that she will be less of a burden to her 70+ year old parents who babysit her kids while she goes to school from 8 to 3 and then works at Price Choppers in the deli department til 9pm, tucks her now 9 year old in bed and does homework til 11pm.

 

Well, those taxes were paid to the state of Georgia and the U.S., not to NY. NY is a considerably higher cost of living area and the taxes are too. There are millions here who would be really happy if the state funded the startup of their new life so they didn't have to actually work or pay college tuition.

 

As to daycare: there are several grandparents in my community who are providing before and afterschool care for their grandchildren..it's the cultural thing to do when both parents work or one of the children has become divorced, especially since before/after care through the school district's provider has no transport home and isn't available after 6 pm. There are also families that have gotten together and swapped babysitting..I'll watch yours on the weekend if you watch mine during the week kind of thing. This need is going to continue when she is working as a LPN, due to the hours. Fortunately after 6th grade, there are all sorts of school activities that her child can join that will provide care and a free ride anywhere in the district at 5 pm. School taxes are high here for single family residences just because we are providing all this 'free' stuff.

 

Here's the page for working families benefits: http://www.otda.state.ny.us/main/workingfamilies/

I assume she already has ChildHealthPlus and free school breakfast & lunch and supplies if she's getting food stamps.

 

Here's some info on Section 8:http://home.howstuffworks.com/real-estate/section-8-housing2.htm Section 8 housing is very limited - in this area it is motels and it is substandard. She would be better off staying with her parents or renting from someone who has an illegal multi-family house. There is just not enough housing or jobs for all the people that want to leave NYC and live upstate on minimum wage.

 

Her parents should have filed for tax relief if they own the property..STAR plus senior citizens exemption. STAR may not happen this year, but they'll get their substantial s.c. exemption. Also if they are homeowners, they should ask around..there are people who are making side money by representing homeowners in town court in order to get their property assessments lowered and a refund from the school tax or property tax. They generally keep half the refund as their fee.

 

She has other options too. She can pick up other work, especially when her school is out of session or permanently & reduce her class load. (Is she in class 8-3 M-F or is she on campus with time between classes? She can find work on campus.) She can declare bankruptcy.Her employer will give her some tuition benefits thru Excelsior. However, from what you've mentioned, she needs to decide on her priorities...is it finishing the degree and starting a high paying job and moving into her own home as rapidly as possible, or is it to minimize working and start homeschooling?\

 

As far as not seeing her child enough during the week...many service members work a worse schedule as do many who commute in to NYC. It's tough, but she has weekends and she will be out of school soon enough.

Edited December 29, 2009 by lgm

[sunshine]

>>SO I guess she is using her own taxes that she paid for the last 27 years of her working productive life to try to get a degree and feed her children so that she will be less of a burden to her 70+ year old parents who babysit her kids while she goes to school from 8 to 3 and then works at Price Choppers in the deli department til 9pm, tucks her now 9 year old in bed and does homework til 11pm.

 

Well, those taxes were paid to the state of Georgia and the U.S., not to NY. NY is a considerably higher cost of living area and the taxes are too. There are millions here who would be really happy if the state funded the startup of their new life so they didn't have to actually work or pay college tuition.

 

As to daycare: there are several grandparents in my community who are providing before and afterschool care for their grandchildren..it's the cultural thing to do when both parents work or one of the children has become divorced, especially since before/after care through the school district's provider has no transport home and isn't available after 6 pm. There are also families that have gotten together and swapped babysitting..I'll watch yours on the weekend if you watch mine during the week kind of thing. This need is going to continue when she is working as a LPN, due to the hours. Fortunately after 6th grade, there are all sorts of school activities that her child can join that will provide care and a free ride anywhere in the district at 5 pm. School taxes are high here for single family residences just because we are providing all this 'free' stuff.

 

Here's the page for working families benefits: http://www.otda.state.ny.us/main/workingfamilies/

I assume she already has ChildHealthPlus and free school breakfast & lunch and supplies if she's getting food stamps.

 

Here's some info on Section 8:http://home.howstuffworks.com/real-estate/section-8-housing2.htm Section 8 housing is very limited - in this area it is motels and it is substandard. She would be better off staying with her parents or renting from someone who has an illegal multi-family house. There is just not enough housing or jobs for all the people that want to leave NYC and live upstate on minimum wage.

 

Her parents should have filed for tax relief if they own the property..STAR plus senior citizens exemption. STAR may not happen this year, but they'll get their substantial s.c. exemption. Also if they are homeowners, they should ask around..there are people who are making side money by representing homeowners in town court in order to get their property assessments lowered and a refund from the school tax or property tax. They generally keep half the refund as their fee.

 

She has other options too. She can pick up other work, especially when her school is out of session or permanently & reduce her class load. (Is she in class 8-3 M-F or is she on campus with time between classes? She can find work on campus.) She can declare bankruptcy.Her employer will give her some tuition benefits thru Excelsior. However, from what you've mentioned, she needs to decide on her priorities...is it finishing the degree and starting a high paying job and moving into her own home as rapidly as possible, or is it to minimize working and start homeschooling?\

 

As far as not seeing her child enough during the week...many service members work a worse schedule as do many who commute in to NYC. It's tough, but she has weekends and she will be out of school soon enough.

 

Three of those years she has worked has been in the state of NY. So yes she has paid those taxes and worked. She is working 35 hours a week right now AND going to school full time. I don't know too many people able to do that. Yes, she is in class from 8-3. No, she doesn' t hang around campus. I hope for your sake you are never in her position. I would hate for someone to tell you that you don't deserve to homeschool your child or that you don't have a right too. Compassion is all she deserves and admiration. You can bet that if I am in her postition which I may very well be, I will get as much as I can to spend as much time with my dc as possible. The children don't ask for their circumstances to change and neither do we. It happens. And we should support a woman who chooses to be a mother instead of abandoning her kids to a state run daycare.

Edited December 30, 2009 by sunshine

[mommaduck]

Three of those years she has worked has been in the state of NY. So yes she has paid those taxes and worked. She is working 35 hours a week right now AND going to school full time. I don't know too many people able to do that. Yes, she is in class from 8-3. No, she doesn' t hang around campus. I hope for your sake you are never in her position. I would hate for someone to tell you that you don't deserve to homeschool your child or that you don't have a right too. Compassion is all she deserves and admiration. You can bet that if I am in her postition which I may very well be, I will get as much as I can to spend as much time with my dc as possible. The children don't ask for their circumstances to change and neither do we. It happens. And we should support a woman who chooses to be a mother instead of abandoning her kids to a state run daycare.

 

AMEN!

[I talk to the trees]

. She is working 35 hours a week right now AND going to school full time. I don't know too many people able to do that. .

 

Gosh, my dh did just that while pursuing his DMA, and we never got a dime from the state! Maybe I missed something?:glare:

 

When will people realize that we need to break out of this entitlement attitude? *sigh* There was a time when people in this woman's situation could count on the support of their community. Work hard, do what's right, and be rewarded. But now, no one can afford to help their friends/family/neighbors out. Why? Because they are being stripped of every extra dime the government (state as well as federal) can squeeze out of them, so that we can have all of the wonderful, government-run social welfare programs! After all, who knows better how to spend our money than a bunch of bureaucrats, right?

 

(fwiw, I HAVE been trying to vote the guilty parties- pun intended- out of office. It's just painfully difficult when the entitlement crowd continually votes themselves bread and circuses!)

 

-Robin