Unemployment Insurance Updates

• If you are waiting for benefits for the time between when you lost your job and when you filed for Unemployment, you need to request those retroactive benefits by speaking to a Department of Labor representative. You can try calling 201-601-4100 or 732-761-2021. Sunday morning may be the shortest wait time. It is difficult to get through to them, but do not worry. The Department of Labor confirmed that all benefits will be retroactive.
• A student who was planning on continuing education and was not searching for a job when COVID-19 hit is not eligible for Unemployment. As a general rule, those who were not working when COVID-19 started are only eligible for Unemployment if they were “scheduled to commence employment” and are “unable to reach the job as a direct result [of the pandemic].” Also, “The individual must have an attachment to the labor market and must have experienced a loss of wages and hours or was unable to start employment following a bona fide job offer.” Please note that the Department of Labor is approving all Pandemic Unemployment applications, and will be going back to review eligibility at a later date.
• For the full LRRC COVID-19 related paid work leaves FAQ document, visit: https://bit.ly/lrrc19ghfaq

Utility Assistance – Reminder

• The deadline to apply for HEAP for this heating season is July 31, 2020. You can download an application from the Utility Assistance section of our website at info.lrrcenter.org.
• If you are a HEAP recipient and you have a past-due gas or electric bill, you may be eligible for additional assistance of up to $600 towards your gas bill and $200 towards your electric bill. To apply, e-mail a copy of your bill to [email protected]. The deadline to apply is July 31, 2020.

Pandemic-EBT

NJ provided any school-aged students who were approved for free or reduced-price meals as of March 18th with a one-time payment of $416.10 per student to help with nutritional support. Human Services worked with schools to identify eligible students. Eligible students already participating in SNAP received the funds on their existing Families First card. All other Pandemic-EBT eligible households will be mailed a P-EBT card.

SNAP Benefits

If you were terminated from SNAP due to the supplemental Unemployment payments, you may submit a new application when the supplemental payments stop if you think you are now eligible again.

NJ FamilyCare Update

If you are pregnant and have income over 147% FPL, send a paper application to the State (not Hooper Avenue, Toms River). If your income is simple, you can also apply online at www.njfamilycare.org, and your application will automatically be sent to the State. For more information and the application, visit the healthcare section at info.lrrcenter.org.

US Census 2020

If you have not already completed the US Census, please take 5 minutes to complete it online at my2020census.gov or by calling 1-844-330-2020. Responses are completely confidential.

Home Buyer Programs – Reminder

If you are considering purchasing a home within the next year or two, we strongly advise that you sign up for an LRRC housing class, which is currently being held via ZOOM due to COVID-19. After attending one session, you can schedule an appointment with a certified housing counselor who will discuss your eligibility for available mortgage programs that provide lower mortgage rates, have lower down payment requirements with no mortgage insurance, and offer closing cost assistance. To date, we have matched close to 1,000 home buyers with programs offered by various lenders in our area. Some of these homebuyers have a relatively high income or already own a home. Unfortunately, clients sometimes contact us when they are too close to closing, and it is too late to access these programs. For this reason, we encourage anyone thinking about buying a home to attend our housing class. For more information, or to schedule a slot in an upcoming housing session, call 732-942-9292 ext. 9-743.