Maine General Assistance

In every town of America, a program is run by the government called General Assistance or GA, which is intended to help the people of America to pay their necessary expenses of life. The necessities of a person that the state tries to provide include clothing, food, shelter, water, medical services, fuel, and electricity, etc., and the GA program assist the people with a specific amount and aid to fulfill these necessities. This program supports the eligible people who are unable to get their necessities fulfilled by themselves. The Maine General Assistance Program is managed and administered by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) along with the municipalities. The population of Maine that needs financial support for the expenses of their basic life necessities and get benefitted through the Maine General Assistance program.

Any person who is not able to fulfill the basic life necessities such as clothing, food, shelter, water, medical services, fuel, and electricity, etc., is eligible to apply for the Maine General assistance program. The applicant needs to provide all the required documents to prove the eligibility to the overseer. More evidence needs to be provided if further documentation or information is asked to be submitted. The authority may also contact other people or sources except the applicant to confirm and verify the provided information. After all the verification of the applicant, assistance is granted to the eligible person. Once the person gets the aid for the first time, there are other different eligibilities to continue the Grant Assistance.

If a person has already granted the Maine General Assistance, his time for eligibility for that assistance starts from the day of application filing till the date which is mentioned on the decision of that grant. However, the duration of eligibility is different for different assistance programs but is not more than a month.

Eligibility Redetermination – The circumstances of a person may change while receiving the grant money or aid. In this case, the condition of the receiving person may be evaluated by the overseer or authority. If the money or grant that the person is receiving does not match the current condition of that person, then that individual might be considered ineligible for the grant. Notification of reduction in assistance, including the reason for this action, is then sent to the receiver, and the authorities ask the recipient for a hearing on the changes made.

Anyone who needs help can apply by applying at the town office and fill in certain requirements by the office. The town office is open for some working hours to receive applications. For the application, the applicant needs to bring the required important documents to show the current situation of household and income, etc. Some of the income cannot be counted through documents, but the applicant must also inform the town office about it. The applicant is provided with grant assistance within thirty days after the submission of the application. The money and grant to be received will depend upon the last income the person had. The person receiving the grant needs to reapply at the end of every month to keep on getting the grant assistance, and the town authorities confirm your eligibility every month for the grant.

In case of any emergency when a person needs food or heating oil urgently, the application for the grant is received by the town office urgently. The office guides the person to apply for an emergency, and the person gets the grant assistance on an urgent basis whether you are eligible for the usual grant or not.

The department itself also assists the applicant who has not received the grant assistance although he was eligible. Thus, in this case, the department intervenes in the case and, within a day, makes it possible that the person gets the grant assistance and pays the due bills, fees, and rent, etc., for the person.

Maine’s population is affected during the civil emergency during COVID-19, but the safety net programs remained functional and accessible during this time. The applicants of the Maine General Assistance program are considered to be more vulnerable to be affected by the coronavirus because of their low resources. The Department of Health and Human Services has launched other programs for the assistance of the vulnerable population of Maine.

For more information, you can visit the Maine Department of Health and Human Services at this link. You can also call at (207) 287-3707

Also Read: Massachusetts Assisted Living Residences (ALRs)