News

December 1, 2009

Program finds senior benefits

Benefits Checkup conducted by Jewish Family Services finds more than $1 million to aid seniors in area.

By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
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WILKES-BARRE – Officials of Jewish Family Services on Monday announced the successful completion of a one-year program that enabled 147 area senior citizens to identify more than $1 million in benefits for which they might be eligible.

Benefits Checkup is a two-step program designed to screen seniors who might not be aware of federal or state assistance programs to which they might be entitled, said Jewish Family Services Executive Director Howard J. Grossman.

The first step involves providing financial information to a volunteer who is trained in entering the information into an Internet-based computer program that matches individuals with government programs. The program spits out a list of potential programs and information on how to apply for the benefits.

The second step is actually applying to participate in the programs, and the volunteers can help with that as well, Grossman said.

Grossman said this is the first time the program was conducted in the Wyoming Valley. He learned about it while attending meetings with counterparts from other areas; a colleague in the Lehigh Valley had helped initiate the program there, he said.

A $4,000 grant from the Blue Ribbon Foundation of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania enabled the program start-up in the Wyoming Valley. Grossman said officials are hoping to find ways to fund the program into the future and expand it.

Lisa Morgan, administrative assistant and special program director at Jewish Family Services, noted that partnerships with the RSVP program of the Area Agency on Aging of Luzerne and Wyoming Counties, senior centers in Wilkes-Barre, Nanticoke, Pittston, Kingston and Hazleton, the Jewish Community Center and Temple Apartments were also key to the program success.

Grossman said Morgan and Helene Flannery, director of the RSVP program, devoted a lot of time to making the program successful.

Barbara Stahley, a volunteer who entered information for participants of Benefits Checkup, said she’s a senior citizen who is fortunate to receive a pension, but many others have to get by solely with a Social Security check.

“My experience as a volunteer was very good. It’s very rewarding because people are very appreciative of any kind of help you can give them,” Stahley said.

Irene Katyl, 78, of Trucksville, is one of the 147 senior citizens who took advantage of the screening.

While she was already familiar with many forms of government assistance, having been a volunteer with Jewish Family Services, a past president of a senior citizen group and an activist who has lobbied legislators in Harrisburg, Katyl said she still learned about a few forms of assistance, such as a Thanksgiving food giveaway through the Commission on Economic Opportunity.

“In today’s economy, you have to look for any help that’s out there. People who never thought they’d have a problem are having a problem,” Katyl said.

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