Poverty Summit Rocks Detroit!

Poverty Summit was held Nov. 13 in Detroit

WHAT: 2008 Voices for Action Poverty Summit
More than 4,000 people from across Michigan attended the event, which featured Gov. Jennifer M. Granholm and Martin Luther King III.

Gov. Granholm

Because poverty continues to impact hard-working Michigan families, the
event kicks off a statewide initiative to reduce poverty and to maximize
economic opportunities for all.

Policymakers, residents and service providers from across the state
looked for ways to ensure that as Michigan’s economy recovers, no citizen is
left behind.

For more info and video on the summit, visit: www.youtube.com/DHSPovertySummit

Michigan Government Announces MiCAP

Michigan Department of Human Services News Release

Contact: Edward Woods III, DHS communications director, 517-373-7394

Michigan Department of Human Services announces new MiCAP food assistance benefits.

Michigan DHS

As many as 80,000 senior citizens and people with disabilities living
independently will qualify.

Senior Citizens

Dec. 18, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Michigan Department of Human Services Director Ismael
Ahmed announced Thursday that as many as 80,000 Michigan senior citizens
and adults with disabilities could automatically get help with their food
budgets next year under a federal pilot project.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service granted
Michigan a series of waivers allowing the state to implement the Michigan
Combined Application Project (MiCAP). Under the project, adults who receive
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and who live independently could receive
at least $60 each month in food assistance.

USDA

“We are the first state in the Midwest to be approved for this
demonstration project, which we estimate will generate an additional $47
million to the state’s economy,” Ahmed said. “Under MiCAP, we will be able
to provide increased access to nutritious food for a vulnerable population,
senior citizens and people who have disabilities.”

Sharon Gire, director of the Michigan Office of Services to the Aging,
joined Ahmed and Meijer CEO Hank Meijer at the announcement of the new
project at the Plainfield Avenue grocery store in Grand Rapids.

“MiCAP will increase purchasing power for many seniors in a very convenient manner,” Gire said. “No application will be necessary for some clients and they won’t be required to travel to their local DHS office. The project offers a seamless and efficient new way to ensure senior citizens have
access to wholesome food.”

SSI recipients – needy persons who are at least 65, blind or disabled –
should expect notice in the mail of this added benefit as early as April
2009.

“We are committed to our customers’ health and well-being,” Meijer
said. “We are pleased to know that more people in our communities will have
the resources they need to buy healthy food.”

For more information, please visit the DHS Web site at www.michigan.gov/dhs.
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Healthcare Eligibility Law Project Hosts Community Forum

WHAT IS THE COMMUNITY HEALTH FORUM?

“The Community Health Forum brings together healthcare providers, human services and community organizations in a meeting sponsored by the Red Cross and the Healthcare Eligibility Law Project (HELP) of the Center for Civil Justice.

Disability Network

Participants receive updates about healthcare-related policies and programs and discuss ways to improve access to and delivery of healthcare services to low and moderate income persons in Genesee County.”

From http://ccj-mi.org/

The OMIA Foundation encourages you to check out further information about the above listed community groups that seek ways to connect low-income local residents to health care and necessary services.

Michigan Food Stamp Challenge

Michigan Department of Human Services News Release

Contact: Edward Woods III, director of communications, (517) 373-7394 or
(517) 927-1884

DHS director invites Grand Rapids residents to take Michigan Food Stamp
Challenge, donate to local food banks
Event highlights the Michigan Harvest Gathering and Voices for Action 2008
Poverty Summit

October 15, 2008

GRAND RAPIDS – Can you enjoy three nutritious meals a day with just $5.87?
That’s exactly what about 300 Michigan residents will do this week to bring
attention to the effects of poverty and increase donations to local food
banks and soup kitchens as part of the Michigan Food Stamp Challenge.

“More than 1.3 million Michigan residents received assistance from the
federal food stamp program,” Michigan Department of Human Services Director
Ismael Ahmed, who is taking the challenge, said at a Grand Rapids event
today. “Hunger is just one of the many devastating effects of poverty.”

The food stamp program – known as the Food Assistance Program in Michigan -
is part of a safety net for Michigan residents, many of whom work, but
still can’t make ends meet. Over a million of them will supplement their
food budgets this year by visiting a local food bank – and the need is
growing. In some parts of the state, emergency food providers are reporting
as much as a 25 percent increase in the number of people seeking help with
food this year.

That’s why Ahmed and about 300 Michigan residents, including Sen. Mark
Jansen; Denise Hubbard, executive director of the Montcalm County United
Way; Dr. Thomas Hass, president of Grand Valley State University; and Gov.
Jennifer M. Granholm took the Food Stamp Challenge. Their pledge calls
attention to the effects of poverty in Michigan and demonstrate the need
for increased donations as part of the Michigan Harvest Gathering, an
annual event to raise food and funds to support the state’s nine regional
food banks that serve agencies helping people in all 83 Michigan counties.

The Michigan Food Stamp Challenge encourages people to spend just $29.35
for food per person in a five-day period, equivalent to the maximum amount
a Michigan resident who has no income might receive in food assistance
benefits. The minimum amount of benefits is $14 a month with the average
benefit being about $100 a month. Michigan’s Food Assistance Program is
designed as a safety net to help ensure people have access to food during
difficult economic times. More than half of all recipients are children and
8 percent are over the age of 60.

Food Stamp Challenge participants also have the option of making a donation
of time or money to a local food bank or local soup kitchen.

“While the Food Stamp Challenge will be an eye-opening experience for many
people,” Ahmed said, “it’s important to focus our attention on reducing
poverty and maximizing economic opportunities for all.”

On Nov. 13, policymakers, low-income residents and service providers from
across the state will gather at Cobo Center in Detroit for the Voices for
Action 2008 Poverty Summit. They will look for ways to ensure that as
Michigan’s economy recovers, our poorest citizens are not left behind. This
first-of-its-kind summit in Michigan is sponsored by the Michigan
Department of Human Services, the Governor’s Commission on Community Action
and Economic Opportunity, and the Michigan Community Action Agency
Association.

The Poverty Summit is not just a one-day event, but kicks off a statewide
initiative to reduce poverty and maximize economic opportunities. After the
event, participants will continue to work on regional teams to implement
practical solutions to address the needs in the regions where they live.

For more information about the Food Stamp Challenge and the Voices for
Action 2008 Poverty Summit, including registration forms, please visit
www.michigan/gov/poverty. To donate to the Harvest Gathering, please visit
www.feedmichigan.org

Which states have the best food stamp web presence?

The Food Stamp Program helps low-income people and families buy
the food they need for good health.  You apply for benefits by completing a State application form.  Benefits are provided on an electronic card that is used like an ATM card and accepted at most grocery stores.

citation: http://www.fns.usda.gov/fsp/

What some people don’t realize is, food stamps are a national program administered at a state level.  In other words, you get food stamps from your state government.  But, it’s federal (national) money you’re getting.  Think of it like signing up for your local National Guard and then flying Stealth Bombers over Iraq.  You registered for the Guard in, say Michigan, but you’re flying on the federal government’s dime.  Get it?

OMIA wondered which state’s had the best web presence.  We came up with the following:

#1 The Federal Government – yeah, that isn’t a state.  But, you have to give it to them for being the best when it comes to electronic food stamp info and accessibility.  After all, They “help put healthy food on the table for 26 million people each month.“

#2 Florida – Talk about accessibility, this state turned its site into an acronym and named their website “Automated Community Connection to Economic Self-Sufficiency.”

#3 California – There’s the application, front and center.

#4 Virginia – Gives the viewer a research driven website, not just for potential applicants.  From reports to legal basis, this site is chock full of info but a little intimidating for the non-computer savvy.  Some highlights from http://www.dss.virginia.gov/benefit/foodstamp.html:

Page Contents

• About Food Stamps
• Steps to Apply
• Designating an Authorized Representative on Your Behalf
• Work Requirements
• Items that Can and Cannot be purchased
• Selecting a Head of Household
• Penalties for Food Stamps Program Violations
• Legal Basis

Related Links

• How Benefits are Issued (the EBT Card) (Web page)
• Civil Rights Policy and Food Stamps (Web page)
• Food Stamps Participation Reports (Web page)

#5 Oregon – Food, Cash, Housing (Does it get any simpler?  Who could want/need anything more or less?)  “In Oregon, Food Stamp benefits are distributed through the state’s Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) system, which allows recipients to obtain their benefits by using an “Oregon Trail Card” at the grocery store card-scanning devices.”

Which leads us to a possible upcoming topic…

The top ranked coolest looking disbursement methods – aka hottest EBT Cards.  Stay tuned!