Job Loss, Health, Food, Heat, Loans
In a short time, our lives have changed dramatically, and we’ve responded quickly. We’ve worked together with the Governor’s office and our Congressional team to expand state programs to respond to the scale and suddenness of our community’s economic pain.
Access to Food:
Additional SNAP benefits for nearly 100,000 households: The Department of Social Services is adding Emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to nearly half of our SNAP participants on April 9 and April 20, 2020. Authorized by the federal Families First Coronavirus Response Act of 2020, the extra food benefits will go to approximately 97,000 households. All households enrolled in SNAP will receive the maximum food benefit allowable for their household size, even if they aren’t usually eligible for the maximum benefit. More information at www.ct.gov/snap.
Access to Health Care:
Good news for the uninsured: Access Health CT @AccessHealthCT has extended the enrollment period until April 17thwww.accesshealthct.com. For those of you who have lost health care coverage as a result of the current crisis, you can apply here through Access Health CT as this is a Qualifying Life Event.
Student Loans:
If you have student loan debt, you will be eligible to pause payments for federal student loans without interest accrual until September 30, 2020. For information and frequently asked questions from the Office of Federal Student Aid, please see here.
Heating Assistance:
Department of Social Services extends deadline to apply for winter home-heating assistance. DSS is extending the application period for the Connecticut Energy Assistance Program. Residents will now have until June 1, 2020 to apply for assistance to help cover this past winter’s heating bills (the previous deadline was May 1). For application sites and eligibility information, visit ct.gov/staywarm, call 2-1-1, text CTWARM to 898-211, or contact a community action agency.
Unemployment:
Eligibility for unemployment is expanded, and so many have applied that many have had difficulty. Payments will be delayed, but will apply retroactively. Here’s a link with FAQ for questions from Dept of Labor. Please note that this document will be updated periodically as information changes. The link is here http://www.ctdol.state.ct.us/DOLCOVIDFAQ.PDF