Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley

Services//Benefits

Are You Eligible for Benefits?

Do you know that more than $31 million worth of benefits for older adults go unclaimed each year in the Lehigh Valley? Could you be among those eligible for benefits who don't know it?

Through the new Benefits Ambassador Program, you can find out whether you are eligible for financial assistance with prescription drugs, groceries, property taxes, home energy costs, and more. The program will even help you sort out the new Medicare drug benefit plans.

A pilot program, the Benefits Ambassador Program is supported through a federal grant secured by the United Way of the Lehigh Valley and the Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging. It is facilitated by a partnership among Jewish Family Service of the Lehigh Valley, the Bethlehem Interfaith Benefits Consortium, Share Care-Faith in Action, the Retired Senior and Volunteer Program, the National Council on Aging, and Temple University's Office of Intergenerational Studies. These participating organizations rally volunteers age 55 and older, from several faith communities and community organizations, to screen thousands of seniors for eligibility and help them pursue opportunities discovered.

The Benefits Ambassador Program is fast, free and confidential. For more information, call 610-821-8722.
Benefits Ambassadors: An Update

Just a few months into action, Benefits Ambassador is already making a difference in people's lives. A program of the Lehigh Valley Alliance on Aging, a community-building project of the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley, Benefits Ambassador deploys trained volunteers from faith-based organizations to screen older adults and people with disabilities for benefits. JFS-LV is one of four local faith-based participants in this pilot program.

As of November 2006, 21 volunteers in teams from Congregation Keneseth Israel, Temple Beth El, Congregation Sons of Israel, JFS-LV, Congregation Brith Sholom, and a joint team from B'nai Abraham Synagogue and Temple Covenant of Peace have screened 27 people, assisting those who have discovered their eligibility to go forward. Some are receiving benefits such as tax and rent rebates.

Benefits Ambassador volunteers have also helped people discover:

An income-based discount on car registration fees for retired Pennsylvania residents
PACE Plus Medicare, which fills in coverage gaps in Medicare D prescription coverage for people enrolled
in PACE and PACENET, two income-based Pennsylvania programs that lower prescription costs.

"Our Benefits Ambassador volunteers are enthusiastic, talented and capable" says JFS Benefits Ambassador Coordinator Robin Rosenau. In November, these volunteers met with their counterparts in all the participating Lehigh Valley organizations to exchange strategies at a Share and Learn event.

If you or a loved one is interested in learning about benefits and possible eligibility, call Robin at 610-821-8722