This information was last updated on April 1, 2026. Download flyer with this information here. (Versión Español.) If you live in Philadelphia and are behind on your gas or electric bills or have already received a shutoff notice, follow these steps right away to avoid losing service. Apply for grant assistance Apply for grants from…
Extra SNAP benefits will be ending in February 2023!Extra SNAP, or emergency allotments (EAs) will be ending after February 2023. Click here to find out what you can do to keep receiving the maximum SNAP you are eligible for. SNAP Emergency Allotments are Now Available to ALL Pennsylvania Recipients in January! What you need to…
What Is Changing? The extra SNAP payment, officially called Emergency Allotments, has ended. Starting in March 2023, you will only get your regular SNAP payment loaded to your EBT card in the first half of the month. There will be no second payment later in the month. What Should I Do? Without the extra SNAP,…
Traditionally, Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation (UC) system was simple and effective. An unemployed worker went to an “unemployment office,” filed a claim, and got about the business of finding a new job. Along with declining administrative funding, that system started to erode at the beginning of this century. First, the local offices were replaced by centralized…
During the pandemic, ID.me, a company providing digital identity credentials that promised to screen out fraudulent claims but “leave no identity behind,” emerged as a potential savior against rampant unemployment benefit fraud. Since then, ID.me’s influence has increased, as numerous federal departments and scores of states have signed on for its services, including in the…
More than 500,000 people are getting determinations disqualifying them from their PUA benefits because “you did not verify your identity as directed to secure benefits.” You might get this disqualification even if you already received PUA benefits, and an overpayment will be assessed against you! Take action to protect your benefits! How do I…
To get either UC or PUA benefits, you are required to prove your identity. Usually, you will be given a link to ID.me. You should use ID.me if you can. It is automatic and, for many people, quick. For those having trouble with ID.me, the State has created a new alternative: you can get help…
For information in English PAHAF proporciona hasta $30,000 para ayudar a propietarios de vivienda que han experimentado una dificultad financiera relacionada con la COVID-19. El año pasado, el presidente Biden firmó el Plan de Rescate Estadounidense. Este plan incluía $350 millones para ayudar a propietarios de vivienda de Pensilvania que experimentaron una dificultad financiera…
Updated 02/01/2021 Para información en Español The Pennsylvania Homeowner Assistance Fund (PAHAF) provides up to $30,000 to help homeowners who have experienced a financial hardship related to COVID. Last year, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan. The Rescue Plan included $350 million to help Pennsylvania homeowners who have experienced a financial hardship related…
Community Legal Services attorney Rachel Gallegos testified on June 10, 2021, in support of Councilmember Cherelle Parker’s resolution calling for swift state action on the Homeowners Assistance Fund (HAF) to help thousands of low- and moderate-income homeowners who have been affected by COVID and are at risk of foreclosure. Read the full resolution My…
This post was written May 04, 2021, by Sharon M. Dietrich, Litigation Director at Community Legal Services. The PA Department of Labor and Industry intends to implement Unemployment Compensation Benefits Modernization – a new computer system for UC benefits — on June 8, 2021. “BenMod” will be a seismic change in how UC claimants,…
Have you gotten a notice from PUA about uploading proof that you lost work during the pandemic? If you applied for PUA in 2020 and are still collecting in 2021, you just need a single document that shows you were working at some point between January 2019 and your application for PUA. It could…
Descarga un folleto con esta información aquí. Si está atrasado en el pago de sus facturas o ya ha recibido un aviso de desconexión, siga estos pasos de inmediato. Solicite asistencia en forma de subsidies de LIHEAP, UESF, y el programa de ayuda para el pago del arriendo de Filadelfia Estos subsidios se pueden utilizar…
BREAKING NEWS: CLS and superstar pro bono co-counsel Morgan Lewis just settled litigation that will deliver $712 million emergency SNAP (food stamp) benefits to approximately 650,000 of the neediest Pa households! In addition, the USDA will be changing their national policy so that approximately 12 million families nationwide will get additional SNAP benefits they are owed.…
We are so excited that the American Rescue Plan has authorized a third round of stimulus payments–offering an essential lifeline to so many people struggling during the pandemic and their dependents. We are hopeful that people, particularly non-filers, do not face the same significant obstacles getting the $1400 dependent payments like they did for the…
CLS Litigation Director Sharon Dietrich submitted the following testimony before the Pennsylvania House Labor and Industry Committee on March 10, 2021. The testimony highlights problems with Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance programs that are preventing eligible applicants from receiving benefits, and proposes solutions to these problems. Download the full testimony with attachments Members…
Read the full report Racial and economic disparities in affordable housing existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, and yet, new data from the US Census Bureau suggest that the pandemic and the ensuing economic fallout are only widening these divides. When paired with a global pandemic, we anticipate a national wave of homelessness that will…
As COVID-19 continues to devastate Pennsylvania, utility terminations remain a threat to public health and safety. Here’s what you can do to make sure the most vulnerable Pennsylvanians remain protected from shutoff. What has Happened So Far: March 2020: In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) issues a ban…
This information was last updated on March 03, 2021 At the end of December 2020, the government began sending people a second stimulus cash payment (sometime called an “Economic Impact Payment” or “EIP”). A prior stimulus payment of $1,200 for most adults, and $500 for most children under 17 was sent out in Spring and…
A piece of good news for people who are unemployed! Congress passed a COVID relief bill which extends emergency unemployment benefits. It was signed a week later, on 12/27/20, and we are still waiting to see how the delay will impact Pennsylvanians. We do not yet know how long it will take for Pennsylvania to…
Each of the nearly 20,000 eviction complaints filed in Philadelphia Municipal Court each year carries a lifelong blemish on a person’s tenancy records, regardless of the outcome of the case. There is no presumption of innocence – even when a tenant wins in court or enters an amicable agreement to preserve housing, the filing alone…
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…
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…
Working parents may be eligible for paid time off to care for children who are stuck at home because of school or childcare provider closures due to COVID-19. If your employer has not advised you about your options for leave, paid or unpaid, ask for them together with coworkers so everyone can get the info!…
Women’s Law Project (WLP) Managing Attorney Terry L. Fromson submitted the following testimony on behalf of WLP and Community Legal Services to Philadelphia City Council on June 22 2020 in support of Bill # 200303. The bill amends the existing Philadelphia Paid Sick Leave Law to create leave time for public health emergencies and expands…
People are at risk of getting their utilities shut off, even though we are in the middle of a pandemic and need to “shelter in place.” Currently, utilities are not allowed to shut people off, but that ends on June 4th. This week CLS and the Pennsylvania Utility Law Project submitted a letter to Governor…
Información en Español Printable flyer Great news! A new unemployment benefit called Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”) is available to workers who are not eligible for regular Pennsylvania Unemployment Compensation (UC) – including gig workers, freelancers, independent contractors, employees of religious institutions, and self-employed individuals. You may be eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) if your…
Haga clic aquí para descargar el folleto ¡Buenas noticias! … Un nuevo beneficio de desempleo que se llama Asistencia por Desempleo Pandémico (PUA, por sus siglas en inglés) está disponible para los trabajadores que no son elegibles para Compensación por Desempleo regular (UC, por sus siglas en inglés), incluyendo: trabajadores por proyecto (“gig” workers) y…
Starting Monday, May 18th, Pennsylvania will accept applications for its new LIHEAP Recovery Crisis Program. Eligible households could receive grants of up to $800 sent directly to their utility or fuel vendor. Grants are available to pay for heating or electric bills. You can also get help to fix broken heaters or other energy equipment.…
Si no está trabajando porque está de licencia, fue despedido, o ha perdido su trabajo, debería consultar las siguientes opciones para la atención médica de usted y su familia. Debe conseguir la cobertura en un plazo de 60 DÍAS, contados a partir de cuando perdió la cobertura mediante su empleador, o perderá la oportunidad de…
If you are not working because you are on leave, on layoff, or have lost your job, you should look at the following options for health care for yourself and your family. You should secure coverage within 60 DAYS of when you lose coverage through your employer, or you will lose the opportunity to get…
Actualizado 13 de abril de 2020 Muchos propietarios de vivienda pueden tener problemas para pagar sus hipotecas debido a la pérdida de sus empleos, la reducción de sus ingresos o a una enfermedad relacionada con la COVID-19. Aquí presentamos algunas respuestas a preguntas frecuentes sobre cómo la COVID-19 afecta a los propietarios de vivienda que…
On Friday evening, April 10, 2020, Governor Tom Wolf announced important progress by the Commonwealth in implementing supplemental unemployment benefits made available by the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These new benefits will bring desperately needed relief to unemployed workers throughout the Commonwealth. Beginning this week, all Pennsylvanians receiving unemployment compensation…
This information was last updated February, 2021. En Español Many homeowners have had trouble paying their mortgages because of job loss, reduced income, or illness related to COVID-19. Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about how COVID-19 affects homeowners with mortgages. Topics covered include: what to do if you can’t make your mortgage…
Pennsylvania County Assistance Offices may be able to give families some money to get by while they can’t work because of the coronavirus crisis. Instead of getting ongoing cash assistance, families temporarily out of work may be able to get “diversion” payments. Diversion payments are one, two, or three months’ worth of regular cash assistance,…
The COVID-19 pandemic has upended the U.S. workforce, leading to record levels of unemployment. While some people will return to work in the coming months, many workers with disabilities may remain out of the workforce indefinitely. Older workers with disabilities were thirty percent more likely to lose their jobs during the Great Recession than the…
¡Ahora puede estar cubierto para una licencia por enfermedad para el COVID-19 coronavirus! Si usted está cubierto(a) bajo el Reglamento de Licencia por Enfermedad de Filadelfia (información sobre la cobertura más adelante), ahora también puede usar su licencia por enfermedad por las siguientes razones: Si su lugar de trabajo cierra debido al coronavirus Si está…
As Congress works its way towards the third and most important stimulus bill, a central tenet of that legislation must be this: Strong unemployment benefit provisions are vital for ensuring the economic survival of millions of working people who suddenly have no paychecks. Despite all the airtime that $1000/$2000 cash payments are getting, Unemployment Insurance…
YOU MAY BE ELIGIBLE FOR FOOD STAMPS (SNAP), MEDICAID (MA), CASH ASSISTANCE (TANF) OR HEATING BILL ASSISTANCE (LIHEAP). If you need to apply for benefits, please apply online through Compass or call Benephilly: 844-848-4376. The County Assistance Offices are closed to the public, but they are accepting applications. If you already receive these benefits, but…
Información en español sobre Licencia por EnfermedadUPDATE: You may be covered by sick leave for the Covid-19 coronavirus now. If you are covered under Philadelphia’s Sick Leave Ordinance (coverage information below), you can now use your sick leave for these reasons, too: • If your workplace closes because of coronavirus • If you are quarantined…
