 Hi, on this episode of Living Out Loud, we're gonna talk about light heap, food and nutrition programs, town day and tax deferral. Come back and I'll let you know what light heap is all about. Welcome back to Living Out Loud. I'm Susan Karp, the executive director of the Council on Aging here in Arlington. Wow, town day, that was last Saturday. It was a great day, saw a lot of individuals, a few of you stopped by and introduced yourselves, learned about our Parkinson's disease program, learned about our caregiver support program. I even had a few of you actually step up and ask if they could volunteer. So thank you. I bet you can take a look at the pictures behind me and just see all the activity. It was glorious until about two when Mother Nature decided to open up and pour, but what I did notice is that people continued to stick around and go up and down mass av. And why is that important? I think it's important as Living Out Loud is to be seen and heard. So the idea that you came out, you walked up and down, you saw other municipal departments, you saw maybe the candy shop, the cookie shop, amongst some other things that are very useful information. So today, I'd like to talk a little bit about what I saw on my walk, but I'm gonna cheat because I really wasn't walking when I saw this. September is one of my favorite months, not only because it's National Senior Center Month and we get to highlight all that we do and the value of our role in the community, but I love my morning glories. I grow them from seed and I think all summer long, oh please bunnies, please don't eat my morning glory seeds. And sure enough, in that picture, how can you go wrong and not have a smile when you see those flowers bloom? So just take a look and enjoy. Send us your pictures as well if there's something favorite that you see. We enjoy hearing from you. So today, as I said, we've talked about Town Day, it was a lot of fun, I met a lot of very interesting people, a lot of activity on Mass Ave, there were performers. It just was a delightful day. And I'd like to switch, this is still September, for those of you that are just tuning in, right as we were preparing for this program, I have to tell you, Jonathan Barbado, who is the program manager, the director of ACMI Living Out Loud program, he got a phone call and I thought it was kind of odd for him to take the phone call right as we were ready to get production going, but you know, he does a lot of work for us so I can look over that. He got a scam call, he answered the phone, he's like, Susan, this is the social security office calling to tell me that there's suspicious activity and that I have to call them back and give them my social security card. That was a scam, if you get something like that, do not answer, hang up, put your phone away. It is a scam and it sounded so real. Now, because it was happening right as we were getting ready for the program, Jonathan and I weren't quick enough, if you will, to put a mic on it just so that you could hear it, but it is very real. I know that wasn't one of our topics, but it came up right at the end. In Arlington, I do want to talk a little bit about some of the nutrition programs that we have. Arlington Eats Market is located temporarily for some time now at St. John's Episcopal Church, so the address is listed up behind me. You can go there every Wednesday, either from nine to 10.30 or 5.30 to seven, so they've made it very convenient for both the working households, as well as if you're waiting for a ride, to go in and shop around and get some food to fill your cabinets. Now, if you're visiting the market for the first time, you need to bring a photo ID and proof of residency. That could be a lease, that could be a utility bill, or a piece of mail with a current address, as well as several shopping bags, because what you carry in, you're gonna be carrying out, so make sure you have that. It's very easy, very welcoming, and lots of variety. So if you need to help ease your budget, if you're a little hungry because your budget doesn't stretch that far, please consider Arlington Eats Market. It's run by volunteers, there's a few paid staff, and really, it's a wide variety of some fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as canned goods, so give it a try. I would also like to talk a little bit about, now I wanna show you up on the screen. It's called the Commodity Supplemental Food Program, not a very fancy name. So I wanted to show you the form because it's a very easy form to complete. We're able to help you if you need some help to do it on your own. I've also highlighted some of the income guidelines, so if you see yourself in that income guideline, that means that you can qualify. So what that program is, is that we've partnered with the Arlington Eats Market and Greater Boston Food Bank. And so individuals that are over 60, so that's living out loud, over 60 that you can get 30 pounds of free groceries every month. Now you may wonder, what is 30 pounds? Well, 30 pounds of groceries, as I've opened the boxes before, you can have things like canned vegetables, you will have canned fruit, you could have red sauce, you could have pasta, you could have beef stew, you can have powdered milk, you could have juice. So the boxes come already pre-packed, and if you go through your box and if you are not liking something that you got, there's a swap table and you can swap and share. But it really is a very valuable program. It eases some financial burden as far as going to the food store. Periodically, we'll also be rotating in fruits and vegetables, but that's an added bonus, that's not a guarantee. And if you wanted more information on this particular program, you'll need to give us a call at the Council on Aging. So you've got that number, 7-8-1-3-1-6-3-4-0-0. And ask for the CSFP program, but you've got it up here, so you can see that the name of that. Perfect. We also have the SNAP. So Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is a program that operates year-round. So the things that I'm mentioning operate year-round. The SNAP program, we are an intake site in Arlington. So for SNAP, we actually handle under 60 and over 60. It's very easy to make an appointment. You just give our office a phone call and you ask for a SNAP appointment. The very smallest award on SNAP is about $180 per year. And you may ask yourself this question, why go through that work for $180 a year? Well, I'm gonna tell you. It takes about a half an hour, maybe 45 minutes to complete the application. And when was the last time that you made $180 for 45 minutes worth of work? I haven't and I've worked all my life. So I'm gonna suggest that if that is an obstacle for you, wipe that out. It is something that's a very valuable program. It is there for you. It's not a matter of saving it for somebody else. You've heard me say this again. It's there for you. So to recap lightly about our food programs. So we know that we have Arlington Eats Market. We know that it's open every Wednesday from nine to 10.30, and then again from 5.30 to seven. So Arlington Eats, very simple. If you're not already enrolled, you go there for the first time, shopping bags in hand, and some form of ID that can verify your residency. We've talked about the CFFP program, which is the 30 pounds of free groceries that you can get every month. That delivery into town is the fourth Monday of every month unless there's a holiday. So sometimes that fourth Monday might be the third Monday, but you're gonna give us a call at our office because that's how you're enrolled into that program. And then we talk about SNAP. So SNAP, we don't list the income guidelines on SNAP because there's some variability with it, but if your income is no more than $2,000 a month, chances are you qualify. And minimum award would be $180 a year. So please don't hesitate. These programs are there for you. It's to help with nutrition. It's to help with the finances as far as what you spend every month. So we'd like to hear from you, please. LIHEAP, what is LIHEAP? Well, LIHEAP is Low Income Heating Assistance Program. Now we've got that flyer right up there, so I want you to take a look at it. Very important to look at those income guidelines because there are individuals in Arlington and in the Council on Aging, we handle both under 60 and over 60 with this particular program. This award allows you, I mean, allows you, once awarded, payment is made directly to your utility based on the award that you receive. How are awards determined? Well, there's always the budget issue, but they do have money. The program opens from November one, and that's why I'm mentioning it now because this is September. In October, we can start with the applications, but you won't get approval until November one. And it ends through April 30th. So you can apply all the way to April 30th for a retro award. I don't really recommend that because you've then been struggling the entire time or then you have this overwhelming bill because you haven't been able to pay. So those income guidelines, take a look at that. If you see yourself within those guidelines, give our office a call and ask for a fuel assistance program. So LIHEAP, again, it's Low Income Heating Assistance Program. It is available for you, but you need to give our office a phone call and apply. We are an intake site, so we don't make the decisions, but we have staff, professional staff, ready and willing to help you complete the application and help you with the paperwork. So don't delay. Before we know, and as you can see the picture in the back, winter will be coming. And I'm hoping it's away from now because I'm enjoying this September weather, but it's still, it's inevitable, all right? So we're gonna move on to one of my favorite programs that I like to talk about. So the Assessor's Office and the Council on Aging. You know, we partner with one another because we like to educate individuals. I'd really like to focus on the tax deferral. So as you're looking at the screen, you're going to see an item called 41A. And 41A is tax deferral. So it's intended for those that are 65 years and older and you have to take a look at your own financial picture to see when would be the right time to do this? Do you do it at 65 or are you maybe later in your years? You may find that it's more helpful. But I did speak with the Assessor this morning and the average tax bill in Arlington is $8,400 a year. So $8,400 to defer the entire amount, you tax, you add a 4% interest rate on that. So that's what, about 362, I don't have my, didn't bring my calculator, but it's somewhere in there. But more importantly, that's an extra $700 a month that could be in your pocket. And that's important to know because the one thing that we hear in the Council on Aging is the concern about affordable housing. So affordable housing could include rent, yes, but the tax deferral only applies to homeowners. So you have to be 65 or older. There is no asset limitation and it's the new income guideline for this is a maximum of 88,000. So when we talk about maximum income levels, we talk about it could be social security, could be an IRA distribution because when you're 70 and a half, you have mandatory distribution out of your IRA, it could be any pension, any dividend, any income. So all of your income, if it doesn't exceed 88,000, this may be a program for you. You can defer all of your taxes. You could defer a part of your taxes. You could even take a look at it like, gee, I know my house is overwhelming. It's too big for me to maintain, but I just need a few years to figure all this out. That might be an option for you to explore. I can't tell you what to do, but it's my job to make sure that you understand some programs that are available that could help defer some of the cash that you pay out. And it's not complicated because when you are ready to sell the house, you're going to be paying the back interest to the town. You'll more than likely be paying a real estate agent to help you sell the house and the rest of the money then is yours. These are not overnight decisions for yourself and these are not overnight decisions for the assessor's office. So the process itself can take a couple of months because you send in the application, they meet as a board, and then they get back to you as to the decision. So I encourage you, if you're interested, the Council on Aging is more than happy to help you. You can also call the assessor's office. The assessor's number is right up here on the screen and we'll let it sit there for a minute so you can try to copy that down. But that certainly is something that I wanted to share this morning. I know it seems very money-oriented but as a part of National Senior Center Month, the financial health is very important. And remember that at the Council on Aging, we have an individual that counsels people on some finances twice a month on Fridays. So you would call and get an appointment with a financial counselor. Maybe that could help you on your next step as far as what decisions are best for you. So I wanna say thank you for joining me today. I look forward to hearing from you and I'll see you again next week.