Información en Español Do You Need Help Paying for Heat? The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) can help. LIHEAP opens October 18th, 2021. Three kinds of assistance are available: LIHEAP Cash: Cash grants from $500 to $1,500 to help with a heating bill. LIHEAP Crisis: Pays up to $1,200 to stop a shut-off…
Información en Español The Pennsylvania ban on utility shutoffs was recently updated, meaning some utility customers may start getting shutoff notices. However, many low-income customers should be protected from utility shutoff as long as they follow certain steps. Do these things now to protect your household from shutoff: Call your utility company. Notify them that…
Recientemente se modificó la prohibición de desconectar los servicios públicos en Pensilvania, lo que significa que es posible que algunos clientes reciban avisos de desconexión. Sin embargo, muchos clientes de bajos ingresos deberían estar protegidos contra la desconexión de los servicios públicos, siempre y cuando tomen ciertas medidas. Siga estos pasos ahora para proteger su…
On Wednesday, October 21st 2020, the Pennsylvania General Assembly unanimously enacted House Bill 440 (Delozier, R-Cumberland, and McClinton, D-Philadelphia), a bipartisan bill which advances Clean Slate policies in Pennsylvania. This bill builds upon the Clean Slate Law, Act 56 of 2018, to open jobs, housing and other opportunities to Pennsylvanians with criminal cases who deserve…
URGENT UPDATE: Act Quickly to Get a Stimulus Payment in 2020! New Deadline for Social Security, SSI, and Veterans Benefits Recipients with Children! Starting now, SSI and Social Security recipients who haven’t yet gotten their $500 stimulus payments per dependent child have a new chance to get the payments. They will need to fill out the non-filer…
Great news! CLS and Morgan Lewis settled with the USDA, bringing $712 million emergency SNAP (food stamp) benefits to approximately 650,000 of the neediest Pennsylvania households! Click here to find out more. A federal court issued a preliminary injunction today, ruling that more than 700,000 of the poorest Pennsylvanians may be entitled to receive additional…
CLS and the entire legal services and public interest law community mourns the passing of a brilliant, energetic, and visionary lawyer, Tom Gilhool, who passed away on August 22, 2020. Although most of his career was spent in over three decades of ground-breaking advocacy at the Public Interest Law Center (PILC), Tom Gilhool first…
On Tuesday, August 25, 2020, Community Legal Services, on behalf of our client the Tenant Union Representative Network (TURN), filed a formal complaint against PECO Energy Company at the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC), for failing to abide by the terms of a settlement with TURN that require PECO to lower bills across the board…
The COVID-19 pandemic has had drastic and tragic effects on Pennsylvania’s long-term care facility residents and the staff who care for them. More than 4,700 long-term care (LTC) residents have died from COVID-19, accounting for 68% of all deaths in Pennsylvania. Immediate action must be taken to improve outcomes for this vulnerable population and to ensure their rights. It is vital that LTC residents and their advocates have…
On July 16, 2020, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia(“CLS”) and Morgan Lewis filed a class action lawsuit against The United States Department of Agriculture (“USDA”) on behalf of Pennsylvanians denied emergency food assistance during the COVID-19 crisis. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (“FFCRA”) included a provision providing for emergency additional SNAP (food stamp) benefits so that low income families could have access to food during the pandemic. Nearly 40% of Pennsylvania SNAP households, including many…
