Government Giveaways for Seniors – Becoming a senior citizen often means that you will have less income, resulting in poor credit and hence making life a little bit more difficult. This often raises the question of whether there’s a government giveaway program for the elderly or not.
To properly answer this question, we need to understand what type of giveaways we’re talking about. There are several government programs available for seniors, mainly to provide them with a healthy and decent life.
Government Giveaways for Seniors Programs
Federal and State Grants and Giveaways
The Federal government provides several program funded from the national budget to help those who are in need, including the elderly. That said, not every senior citizen is eligible for this help. There are some criteria set by the government to ensure that the money is given only to those who are unable to get such services because they can’t afford it. Some good examples for this kind of program are the Medicaid and Section 8 Housing Assistance. That said, is there any other program available? Well, yes there are! However, most of the federal grants of this type are given to state’s agency or programs that support the elderly. For example:
The Nutrition Services Incentive Program – Support the programs that are related to nutrition services for those in need, including the elderly. One of such programs is home-delivered meals, etc.
Capital Assistance Program for Elderly Persons and Persons with Disabilities – It’s a transportation grant that is aimed to provide help for needy people in the areas where there’s no appropriate public transportation
Other programs include Housing for the Elderly, Retired and Senior Volunteer Programs, and the Foster Grandparent Program. However, these grant programs are unavailable for individuals.
If you are in need of individual giveaways for seniors, it would be best to contact the agencies that are related to your need. For example, if you want to know if there’s a health and dental programs made for senior citizen, contact your state’s Department of Health. If you need some cash assistance, your best bet would be contacting the state’s Department of Human Services or equivalent agencies. However, from our experience the department that has the biggest list of available programs or giveaways for seniors would be the Department of Social Services. Some of the examples for this kind of programs can be found in New York which provides grant for prescription drugs, in Connecticut which provides grant for elderly group housing, etc.
Alternatives for Government Giveaways for Elderly
Besides the government, there are still other sources for elderly grants. Many foundations are willing to provide grants that support various programs for senior citizens. Below are some of the examples of such organizations:
The AARP Foundation (for housing, income and food programs aimed for low income senior citizen), the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, Inc (for elderly support and care programs), the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation (for group programs, etc), the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (for health care services for senior citizen) and the MetLife Foundation (for healthy aging and Alzheimer related programs and research).
Just like the government grants for seniors, these foundations are mainly not interested to provide individual grants. Instead, the grants are expected to change the life of multiple persons. Hence, only groups and nonprofit organizations are eligible for many of these programs.
Now the question would be how to find such group in your area?
There is usually a center for elderly or senior citizen available in every state, and the organizations that have elderly-related programs usually contact and inform these community centers. Therefore to obtain information on available programs in your city, you should go to the community centers or senior centers in your area.
Alternatively, you can also try visiting the Department of Human Services and make an appointment with a social worker there. They will gladly provide you with information on the government programs and also the available schedule for free services. Another place to try is the United Way 211. Just contact them by phone via 2-1-1 number and ask.
We hope that this post can answer the question for many people out there about the government giveaways for seniors and its alternatives. Don’t forget to drop some comments and share your valuable experience and information to help other people who need it!
References:
- Government Benefits, Grants, and Loans – https://www.usa.gov/benefits-grants-loans
- Senior Citizen’s Federal Grants – http://www.federalgrantswire.com/senior-citizens-federal-grants.html#.Vsfko_J96M8
- Image: huffingtonpost.com
