Assemblyman
Reports to the Community
Winter 2011
Deepavali
Assemblyman Weprin joined elected officials and members of the South Asian community to celebrate Deepavali on Sunday, October 23.
The event was hosted by Celebrations, a non-profit organization founded by Queens District Leader Uma Sengupta, which works to bring recognition to the cultural traditions and academic and business achievements of the South Asian community in the United States.
From Left to Right: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, Assemblyman William Scarborough, Assemblyman David Weprin, Manhattan Community Leader Jennifer Rajkuma, and Ambassador Prabhu Dayal, Consul General of India.
HEAP keeps you warm.
Winter Heating Assistance
New York is notorious for harsh winter weather, making cold weather preparation and protection essential to surviving these months. Many working families and seniors have trouble paying their heating bills, especially in this tough economy. To help households meet their home-heating needs in a safer, more affordable manner this winter, Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), a federally funded program, issues heating benefits to supplement an eligible household’s annual energy cost.
The HEAP program has a number of different benefits available. The regular benefit component assists lower-income New Yorkers with the cost of heating their homes or apartments. Regular HEAP benefits are based on income, the primary heating source and the presence of a household member who is under age 6, age 60 or older or permanently disabled. An eligible household may receive one regular HEAP benefit per program year. Regular benefits for households that pay directly for heat based on actual usage are paid to the vendor of the household’s primary source of heat.
You may be eligible for a regular benefit if:
-
You and your household members are United States citizens or qualified aliens;
-
Your household’s gross monthly income is at or below the current income guidelines for your household size;
-
You receive food stamps;
-
You receive temporary assistance; or
-
You receive Code A Supplemental Security Income(SSI living alone).
In addition to regular benefits, HEAP also provides emergency benefits to New Yorkers who are facing a heat or heat-related energy emergency and do not have the resources available to fix the crisis. Emergency HEAP benefits are based on income, available resources, the number of household members and the primary fuel type.
You may be eligible for the emergency benefits if:
-
Your electricity is necessary for your heating system or thermostat to work and is either shut off or scheduled to be shut off;
-
Your natural gas heat is off or scheduled to be shut off;
-
You are in danger of running out of fuel; or
-
Your essential home-heating equipment is inoperable.
HEAP benefits also include the heating equipment repair or replacement component, which helps low-income homeowners repair or replace furnaces, boilers and other direct-heating elements required to keep the home’s primary heating source in working order. Benefit amounts are based on the actual cost incurred for repair or replacement of the appliance, up to $6,000.
I am committed to supporting HEAP and ensuring that seniors on fixed incomes and working families struggling to make ends meet do not have to choose between heating their homes and putting food on the table.
For further information about HEAP in New York City, please call the Human Resources Administration
Department of Social Services toll-free number at 800-692-0557 or visit the HRA/DSS website at
www.nyc.gov/html/hra/html/directory/heap.shtml.
Additional Benefits forNational Grid Customers
National Grid’s Neighborhood Heating Fund provides additional assistance to National Grid customers who fall within HEAP guidelines. Individuals can receive up to $200 depending on the amount of their bill, and may only apply one time per year.
Assemblyman Weprin’s office will be providing constituents with applications and assist with the completion of applications during the heating season.
Senior Health Coverage
With the rising cost of medication and our tough economy, it’s important for seniors to be aware of changes to health coverage programs and find out how to best protect themselves, and their wallets.
Assemblyman Weprin was joined by Elder Law attorney, and former Assemblywoman, Ann Margaret Carrozza for a Town Hall meeting to discuss the recent changes to state and federal regulations regarding senior health programs and how seniors can protect their assets by planning ahead.
Mr. Weprin was also joined by Laura Mulvihill, a representative from the EPIC Program, who discussed the upcoming changes to the program. Beginning January 1, 2012, EPIC will provide assistance with prescription drugs only during the coverage gap, commonly know as the “donut hole” phase of Medicare Part D. EPIC will only provide assistance for drugs on participants’ Part D plan formulary. For more information on this program please call the EPIC Hotline at (800) 290-9138.
Adoption
November was National Adoption Month, a time to raise awareness about the adoption of children and the need for adoptive families. This month Assemblyman Weprin focused on the right of adopted adults to know about their origins through access to their original birth records.
In New York, an adopted person cannot access his or her original birth certificate unless the adoptee goes through judicial means. Even then, the outcome does not guarantee that access will be granted. Too often this means an adoptee must live with doubt and uncertainty about their origins and unable to access vital health information that can help improve their quality of life.
Assemblyman Weprin has introduced legislation that will allow adult adoptees to receive a copy of an original birth certificate and, if available, a medical history form.
Assemblyman Weprin’s legislation would establish a contact preference form to protect the privacy of biological parents, if they so choose. Birth parents have the option of being contacted directly by the adoptee, through an intermediary, or to not be contacted at all.
