Work Pays NY! Helping You Make Ends Meet

Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance

Video	Audio
	Female Narrator New Yorkers work hard every day to provide for themselves and their families, but some still struggle. Families are stretching the dollars they earn more and more, but sometimes it’s just not enough to make ends meet.
Work Supports: Food Stamps /nutritional benefits Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits Home energy assistance Child care Free or low-cost health insurance And much more!	Female Narrator If you’re currently working but having a hard time making ends meet, there are a number of work supports that may help such as… food and nutritional benefits, Earned Income Tax Credits and other tax credits, home energy assistance, child care, health insurance and much more!
	Female Narrator And even if you’re not currently employed, you may still be eligible for many of these benefits, including help with your job search.You can find out more information by talking to someone here today!
	Female “I’m a single Mom and I’m doing my best to provide for myself & my kids and to make our lives more comfortable. I work two jobs, but with the cost of gas, food and child care, I was really struggling financially.
	Female Deciding to see what help is out there was the best thing I could have done for my family! I went online and found some answers at mybenefits.ny.gov
	Female It’s a webpage you can go to, to see what programs and services may be available to help you and your family. You just answer some basic questions, and you’ll get a listing of many of the benefits you might be eligible for! All the information is kept confidential and you can even print out an application for some of the programs right there!
	Female I mailed in my application for Food Stamps, and did my interview over the phone so I didn’t have to take time off from work to go to my local social service office! I was able to get Food stamps and find out about health insurance for my family. I’ll also get a bigger tax refund this year thanks to some tax credits I learned about on the mybenefits website! The bigger refund check means I can pay off some bills and keep saving for a better car.
	Female Narrator There is help for working families in New York and the “mybenefits” website is a quick, simple and completely confidential way to help you and your family find out about work supports that can help you make ends meet.Even if you’re not currently working, the myBenefits website can provide you with valuable information on programs you may be missing out on that can help your family become more financially secure. There is also support available at your local social services office for job searches, job training, and other transitional benefits that may help your family.
	Female I’m starting a career later than most of my friends because I had a baby while I was in high school. But thanks to some job-search help I got through social services, I was just hired for a great new job! I cannot tell you how excited I was - but I was also scared. I was afraid I would be making too much and I wouldn’t be eligible for the assistance I get now like Food Stamps and health care coverage. I was scared that this new job might actually put me and my son further behind.
	Female But my worker showed me that with the transitional benefits I was eligible for, I could still afford day care and groceries and my son would still have his health care covered. Since I’m working now, I’ll be able to claim Earned Income Tax Credits. I can even get my taxes prepared and filed for free at a volunteer income tax assistance site.
	Female Now not only am I in better financial shape than I have ever been…but I’m also doing great at my new job and I know my son is proud of me.
	Female Narrator Remember – whether you are currently employed or still looking for work, there are benefits and services that may be available for you and your family that will help you keep moving ahead as you transition to work, or move up the career ladder.
Food and Nutritional Benefits	Female Narrator Things like:Food and nutritional programs such as the Food Stamp program which issues monthly benefits that can be used to purchase food at authorized retail food stores.The School Breakfast and Lunch Programs, which provide free, reduced-price or full-priced breakfast, lunch and even after school snacks at participating schools throughout New York State The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Nutrition Program, which provides nutritious foods for individuals with the goal of assuring the healthy outcome of a pregnancy and adequate nutrition to infants and children up to age 5.And New York State Food Banks, which provide safe, nutritious food at food pantries, soup kitchens and shelters
Free or Low- Cost Health Insurance	Female Narrator Free or low-cost health insurance through the Medicaid program or through Child Health Plus for children up to 19 or Family Health Plus for adults 19 through 64.
Home Energy Assistance Electricity Propane Natural Gas Wood Oil Kerosene Coal	Home energy assistance through the HEAP program. HEAP may help you pay for: Electricity, Propane, Natural Gas, Wood, Oil, Kerosene, Coal, or any other heating fuel.
Child Care	Female Narrator Child care assistance, through subsidies provided by Local Departments of Social Services, to enable a parent or caretaker to work.
Tax Credits	Female Narrator Tax credits like Federal, State and New York City Earned Income Tax Credits which are refundable income tax credits for low and moderate income working individuals and families.
Free Income Tax Preparation	Female Narrator And you can even receive free income tax preparation through the IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program. Trained community volunteers can help you file for special credits, such as Earned Income Tax Credits (EITCs), and the Child Tax Credits. In addition to free tax return preparation assistance, most sites also offer free electronic filing (e-filing). Individuals, who take advantage of the e-file program and use direct deposit, will usually receive their refunds in less than 10 business days as compared to returns filed on paper.
	Female Narrator You can find more information on these and other benefits that may be available to you and your family from someone here today! Ask about how you can qualify for these programs, or look for more information online at mybenefits.ny.gov – anytime it’s convenient for YOU!
	Male “I’ve had a job since I was 16 years old – but I found myself looking for work again after 20 years at the same factory. I was getting real worried about taking care of my wife and kids, especially with energy costs rising all the time. I knew I had to do something, but I just didn’t know where to start”
	Male After I applied for unemployment, I went to my local One-Stop Career Center to check out my job options.I enrolled in a job-training course and got help with my resume so I can find another good job and get us back on our feet again! I also went onto the myBenefts website and found out about health care coverage, help buying food and some tax credits I didn’t know about before. And, I learned about HEAP - the Home Energy Assistance Program – which will really help us out with our heating bills in the winter.
	Male The website is simple to use and it’s full of information on what resources are out there for people like me who work hard but have a tough time making ends meet.
	Female Narrator “my benefits dot ny dot gov” is a quick and easy way to find answers to questions about New York State's programs and benefits, including supports available for working families!This site is completely confidential and it’s frequently updated with new information about benefits and services.
	Female Narrator As you can see, these benefits and supports can really make a difference! Work supports such as tax credits, and food stamps help raise income levels, to provide added economic security to New York’s low- income working families. For example a working family with one parent and two children, making around 17-thousand dollars per year, may increase their household income substantially, to more than $ 27,000 with food stamps and tax credits. And remember there is additional support available such as home energy assistance, child care, health care coverage and more!
	Female Narrator It’s simple math – income from your job, plus available work supports, equals more money for your family and a more stable future for your kids!
	Female We found ourselves with a full house again this year when my grandkids came to live with us. I retired a few years ago and now my part time job isn’t enough – but there IS help out there for people like us.
	Female We checked out the myBenefits website and it looks like we’ll be able to get food stamps and a number of work supports. I also got information on Veterans benefits for my husband that we didn’t even know about!
	Female So if you’re like us – and working hard to make a better life – don’t struggle on your own. Get the supports and benefits that you’re eligible for and keep more of your hard-earned dollars to spend on your family.
	Female Narrator So remember, there is help for working families in New York and the “my benefits” website is a quick, simple and completely confidential way to find out about work supports that can help you and your family make ends meet.
ROLL CREDITS