Latest news with #lowincome
The Sun
a day ago
- General
- The Sun
Households can apply for £500 cost of living cash boost NOW ahead of summer holidays
THOUSANDS of households can still apply for £500 worth of free cost of living cash ahead of the summer holidays. Cash-strapped families can get support via the government's Household Support Fund. 1 The scheme has been extended multiple times, with the latest round running between April 2025 and March 2026. Each council in England has been allocated a share of the £742million, which they can dole out to residents in need. Eligibility criteria varies, but help is usually offered to those on benefits or a low income. Residents in Worcestershire can apply for support worth up to £500 to help with water and energy costs. How much you receive depends on factors such as your age and if you live in a household with children. For example, households with just adults aged between 18-66 can receive up to £300 in support. This is also the case for households with one adult or a couple of pensionable age. But homes with children aged under the age of 18, or young adults up to the age of 21 in full time education, can receive up to £500. To be eligible for the support you must have an income before tax of £24,570 if you are a single adult. All other households must have a yearly income of £31,000. Families can get FREE washing machines, fridges and kids' beds or £200 payments this summer – and you can apply now You must also have no savings, unless you are of state pension age - in which case you can have up to £5,000. You can be on Universal Credit but at least one person in your household must meet one of the following: Be of state pension age Have a long-term diagnosed health condition or be registered disabled Have a child under four Be in receipt of DWP benefits like Attendance Allowance, Carer's Allowance, PIP or Disability Living Allowance Be receiving support from services such as food banks, Citizens Advice, Age UK, mental health or housing support, or your GP's social prescribing team If you are keen to apply visit What if I don't live in Worcestershire? The £742million Household Support Fund has been shared between all councils in England. So, if you don't live in this area but are struggling financially or are on benefits you will likely be eligible for help. This is because the fund was originally set up to help those on low incomes or classed as vulnerable. What type of help you can get will vary but it could range from a free cash payment to supermarket vouchers. For example, households in Ealing Council can apply for support worth £180. Elsewhere, Doncaster residents can still apply for £300 worth of support to be paid this winter. Households in Redcar & Cleveland can also now apply for support worth up to £230. Household Support Fund explained Sun Savers Editor Lana Clements explains what you need to know about the Household Support Fund. If you're battling to afford energy and water bills, food or other essential items and services, the Household Support Fund can act as a vital lifeline. The financial support is a little-known way for struggling families to get extra help with the cost of living. Every council in England has been given a share of £742million cash by the government to distribute to local low income households. Each local authority chooses how to pass on the support. Some offer vouchers whereas others give direct cash payments. In many instances, the value of support is worth hundreds of pounds to individual families. Just as the support varies between councils, so does the criteria for qualifying. Many councils offer the help to households on selected benefits or they may base help on the level of household income. The key is to get in touch with your local authority to see exactly what support is on offer. The current round runs until the end of March 2026.
CBC
3 days ago
- General
- CBC
Toronto is installing AC units for senior tenants, but some say it's not enough
Toronto is working to install portable air conditioners for low-income tenants. CBC's Mercedes Gaztambide speaks to some tenants on what solutions they want to see from the city.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Medicaid expansion gathers signatures in efforts to drive change
Efforts are in progress to expand Medicaid coverage within the state, with lawmakers working to gather enough signatures to place the measure on the ballot for next November. The proposed expansion aims to provide coverage to people who earn at or below 138 percent of the national poverty line. As of Friday, nearly 63,000 signatures have been collected, but over 880,000 signatures are still needed to qualify for the ballot. The effort to expand Medicaid aims to increase healthcare access for low-income individuals by covering those at or below 138% of the poverty line, addressing current system gaps. While nearly 63,000 signatures have been collected, the campaign needs over 880,000 for the ballot. It involves mobilizing volunteers and community engagement to promote Medicaid expansion. If successful, the Medicaid expansion could greatly improve healthcare access for thousands of residents, offering vital coverage to those who need it most. Lawmakers keep pushing ahead with the signature collection effort, aiming to reach the necessary threshold for ballot inclusion. Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.
CBC
3 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Alberta gov't fell short of its affordable housing goal last year: annual report
The provincial government completed fewer new or refurbished affordable housing units last year than the previous three years, according to figures in the Seniors, Community and Social Services Ministry's annual report. Provincial funding contributed to the creation of 388 new units in fiscal 2024, while another 410 households received rent supplements — payments that help people pay rent in market-housing units, the annual report says. But the combined number of 798 units and subsidies fell short of the ministry's target of 1,500 for the year, the report says "The provincial government has been failing at creating more affordable housing, particularly for low-income people," said Carolyn Whitzman, a senior housing researcher at the University of Toronto's School of Cities. Last year, the Alberta government created 641 affordable housing units — through new builds and refurbishments — and allocated 1,661 rent supplements. In the 2021 Stronger Foundations report, the province's 10-year strategy for affordable housing, the government set a goal to expand the capacity of its affordable housing system, so it could support 25,000 more households by 2032. That figure combines new builds, renovations to existing units and rent subsidies. During a media availability Friday, Assisted Living and Social Services Minister Jason Nixon told reporters that the provincial government is on track to reach its goal. He said providing rent supplements for existing market housing is part of the plan. "Rent supplement units are new units," Nixon said. "Taking a unit on, that would be in the open market, and creating a rent supplement for that unit creates an affordable unit that would not have been affordable before this." The annual report said an additional 1,626 units were under construction as of March 31. On Friday, Nixon and Eleanor Olszewski, the federal minister of emergency management and community resilience and MP for Edmonton Centre, announced that the federal and provincial governments will spend $203 million combined to build 2,300 affordable housing units across Alberta. The provincial government has spent $386 million through its Affordable Housing Partnership Program since 2022, and plans to spend another $655 million over the next three years. Provinces could do better Whitzman, the U of T researcher, sees problems with Alberta's use of subsidies to help make market housing more affordable. The payments, she said, don't always make up the difference between the rent charged for a unit and what a lower-income tenant can afford. Rent subsidies also keep tenants in the private market, which may not provide the same kind of rent stability as a unit in a community-housing or non-market unit., she said. Nixon rejects calls for Alberta to implement rent control while the province builds out its affordable housing supply. He argues rent caps provide a disincentive to developers who build new apartment and homes. Whitzman said that isn't the case in jurisdictions like Quebec, which has rent control. No provincial government is doing a great job building affordable housing, Whitzman said, but Alberta is failing on several fronts. She said Alberta has a growing rate of evictions, and that the government needs to improve benefits so people can afford to live. The Alberta government can also change the building code and provide guidance to municipalities on how they can change zoning bylaws to allow more apartment buildings, she said. Calgary, and particularly Edmonton, are doing well with zoning changes, but only because they did so on their own, Whitzman added. Opposition NDP housing critic Janis Irwin, the MLA for Edmonton-Highlands-Norwood, said she isn't surprised the government fell short of its affordable-housing goals. Nixon often cites increases in market housing starts as proof Alberta is building more housing, which in turn will make more apartments available as tenants move into new homes. But Irwin argues the UCP government needs to spend more on new non-market housing, and reiterated a call to institute a rent cap. She said Nixon could spend more on new affordable housing builds, noting the government ended the 2024-25 year with a $8.2 billion surplus. "They could be using that money to invest in new affordable housing. They could be upgrading the affordable housing that we know is in disrepair," Irwin said.
Japan Times
4 days ago
- Health
- Japan Times
When an HIV scientific breakthrough isn't enough
A landmark breakthrough in HIV prevention — a scientific feat decades in the making — received final approval from the Food and Drug Administration last month. Gilead Sciences' lenacapavir is so effective that global health leaders had started to cautiously talk about the end of an epidemic that continues to kill more than 600,000 people each year. We should be celebrating its arrival. Instead, aid groups and the countries most affected by HIV are reeling from the Trump administration's relentless attacks on the global health infrastructure. Instead of perfecting plans for a rollout of the medication, they are scrambling to ensure people with HIV have the drugs they need to survive. Last year, I wrote about the stunning — or as one HIV expert described it, "spine-chilling'— results from a large study of lenacapavir. None of the women and adolescents who were given the twice-yearly injection in the trial became infected with HIV. In a second study involving men who have sex with men and transgender individuals who have sex with men, the treatment was 96% effective. Even better, Gilead is working on a newer version that could potentially offer protection for a year or more. That's about as close to an HIV vaccine we're likely to get — at least for many years. It's also the world's best shot of achieving the goal of ending HIV by 2030. For low- and middle-income countries that continue to face frustratingly stubborn infection rates, a twice-yearly drug could be a game-changer. Although existing treatments of daily pills do an excellent job at preventing infection, getting people to use them consistently has been difficult. There is the stigma attached to the pills. Ensuring patients return for frequent testing and refills is also challenging — as is simply remembering to take them daily. Consider the typical day of a mom with a newborn and it's easy to understand how six months of protection could make a real difference in lowering HIV cases in women and infants. Some experts have even suggested lenacapavir is our best chance of wiping out new infections in children. That was before the Trump administration abruptly shut down USAID, the lead agency behind Pepfar. The global initiative to combat HIV/AIDS is credited with saving an estimated 26 million lives since its inception in 2003. Although the administration granted a limited waiver to allow some HIV services to continue, funding is significantly restrained. As health workers grapple with fewer resources, their focus has shifted to people living with HIV. "When the chips are down, you safeguard treatment because those people will die if they don't get their antiretroviral,' says Linda-Gail Bekker, director of the Desmund Tutu HIV Centre at the University of Cape Town. And yet, she said, "prevention we know is an absolute cornerstone to bringing this epidemic under control.' Because the situation is so dynamic, it's been difficult to capture what's happening on the ground. The best current model suggests the administration's actions could result in at least 70,000 additional new infections and another 5,000 deaths in the next five years. UCLA infectious disease epidemiologist Dvora Joseph Davey says that in 2024, the eight public health clinics in Cape Town — where she is based — saw three infants who were HIV-positive at birth. In the first five months of this year, they've already seen three babies born with the infection. She knows there will be more. One pregnant woman with HIV recently came into the clinic and, at 37 weeks, her viral load was dauntingly high. She'd skipped picking up her last three-month supply of pills. The nurse she'd been seeing was let go as part of the funding cuts and no one was available to do a blood draw at her last visit, Davey says. If the people who, in theory, should still be benefiting from global aid are falling through the cracks, what hope do we have for prevention? Prevention efforts have already been severely disrupted in some countries. Supply is responsible for some of the upheaval, but the more complicated problem is getting the drugs to the people who need them most. "We need low-cost product and also a low-cost delivery mode,' says Carmen Pérez Casas, senior strategy lead at Unitaid, a global health initiative hosted by the World Health Organization. The situation for the latter "has changed radically,' she says. HIV prevention is not as simple as just handing out a prescription. It's first identifying those most at risk of infection, getting them tested to confirm they are negative and offering counseling about their options. It's ensuring they return for more testing and the next dose of their medication. That requires a vast support network ranging from doctors and nurses to counselors, pharmacists, lab technicians, data scientists and more. Pepfar supported all of that infrastructure. In South Africa, for example, cuts have resulted in lost jobs for some 8,000 health workers focused on HIV. Aid groups are doing their best to ensure the breakthrough's promise is not entirely lost. Their first hurdle is bridging the gap to the arrival of low-cost generic lenacapavir, which isn't expected until sometime in 2027. (Gilead is allowing a handful of drug companies to make and sell generic forms of lenacapavir in the countries most heavily impacted by HIV.) Global health agencies are anxiously awaiting the company's price tag for those countries to understand how far their funding can be stretched. Then they need to get the drug to patients. Experts tell me they've scaled back their expectations given the upheaval with Pepfar. The Trump administration's termination of National Institutes of Health grants to foreign countries has created additional hurdles. It's been particularly devastating in South Africa, where the NIH supported a significant chunk of research related to HIV. That means less money to conduct so-called implementation studies for lenacapavir, which are crucial for understanding how to improve the drug's use in the real world. One simple thing the Trump administration could do is free up funding for prevention. Pepfar continues to operate under a waiver that only allows PrEP money to be spent for those who are pregnant or breastfeeding. Groundbreaking science alone won't end HIV. It must be paired with affordability and access. The Trump administration's callous cuts to global health efforts put all of those things at risk — including the promising future where HIV is brought to heel. Lisa Jarvis is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering biotech, health care and the pharmaceutical industry.
