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Old 03-22-2012, 02:02 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
836 posts, read 1,777,762 times
Reputation: 887

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Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleJazzyP View Post
I would still not suggest that anyone move to Alaska because the entitlement programs are better.
I didn't say they were better And did not advise to move here.
Disclaimer:
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyNewMe View Post
Anyway, all of the above is good to know if, for some reasons, you HAVE to be here. Otherwise, you might want to consider some of the cheaper states which also have similar wages...
Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleJazzyP View Post
And heating assistance, really? One month out of the year? I know someone personally who has applied for it, and I guess it helped for that month, but what about the others that require heat?
As for heating assistance, it offers ONE check ONCE a season - which is a percentage of your costs for that heating season in relation to income; it does not necessarily cover one full month or it can actually cover several...
Just saying
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Old 03-22-2012, 04:01 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
4,061 posts, read 9,882,046 times
Reputation: 2351
I think it's really wrong to encourage people that there is a good enough safety net up here to survive off of programs with very limited funding. It is horrible being poor in Alaska and people shouldn't think for a second that it's wise to move somewhere totally new if they can't afford it. How enjoyable is Alaska when you have to live in a bad neighborhood with no hope for a better life?
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Old 03-22-2012, 03:43 PM
 
Location: Over the Rainbow...
5,963 posts, read 12,431,055 times
Reputation: 3169
Little Jazzy and gobrien are exactly right. I've worked with the homeless and the programs you seem to know so well are hard to obtain not easy as you let on. If that is all you can offer maybe it's better to offer nothing.
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Old 03-22-2012, 04:11 PM
 
26,639 posts, read 36,696,773 times
Reputation: 29906
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyNewMe View Post
I didn't say they were better And did not advise to move here.
Not exactly, but listing hard-to-access social programs in a thread started by someone who is just considering moving up could be construed as an implication that perhaps you didn't mean. And...

Quote:
I do want to tell you a few things the others might not know
I think that the others know about those few things but didn't mention them for reasons Pat posted above.

The PDF, by the way, does nothing for low-income families if they are getting benefits. It isn't a good idea to mention this as a way to offset the high cost of living because - it isn't.
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Old 03-22-2012, 05:12 PM
 
Location: Naptowne, Alaska
15,603 posts, read 39,817,459 times
Reputation: 14890
And as mentioned earlier, it's a year or two wait before qualifying and actually obtaining a PFD.
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Old 03-22-2012, 11:05 PM
 
Location: Anchorage, AK
868 posts, read 1,426,458 times
Reputation: 627
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskapat528 View Post
Little Jazzy and gobrien are exactly right. I've worked with the homeless and the programs you seem to know so well are hard to obtain not easy as you let on. If that is all you can offer maybe it's better to offer nothing.
Oh, why not? False hope is delicious if the crust is nice and flaky.

@HappyNewMe: Very few people HAVE to be here, other than those who already are. I hate to have to be so negative, but most of us have been saying the things we're saying to prevent this family from making what would almost certainly be a horrible mistake.

Simply qualifying for assistance is not enough: the means to provide it must be available, and for many, at least in terms of housing and utility assistance, it is not. Food stamps are probably a slam-dunk for this family, but housing isn't, because there just isn't enough of it to go around, for the poor.

If the OP had been a person already living in Alaska, I would praise your efforts to help them, but as it stands, I think you have only offered false encouragement to someone who would be better served by a hard dose of reality.
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Old 03-23-2012, 12:01 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
836 posts, read 1,777,762 times
Reputation: 887
Quote:
Originally Posted by Alaskapat528 View Post
Little Jazzy and gobrien are exactly right. I've worked with the homeless and the programs you seem to know so well are hard to obtain not easy as you let on. If that is all you can offer maybe it's better to offer nothing.
I am guessing I SHOULD have said nothing!
Because I didn't know I was so encouraging!
I DID say, it is only good to know if they HAD to be here for some reason. How else can I fraze it??
Btw, I did use most of those programs... because I had to be here. But, it took me forever to find anything about them, and I would sure appreciated it if someone helped me learn when it was most needed!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Rance View Post
And as mentioned earlier, it's a year or two wait before qualifying and actually obtaining a PFD.
and I mentioned that, too

Quote:
Originally Posted by LittleJazzyP View Post
most of us have been saying the things we're saying to prevent this family from making what would almost certainly be a horrible mistake.
And I agree that it most likely would be a mistake, that's why I mentioned they might be better off trying other states...
ALSO, gave links that (hopefully) might be helpful which state to choose best:
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyNewMe View Post
Here is a cost of living comparison calculator (for around the country): Cost of Living comparison calculator

And a GREAT map for the wage one needs to earn in order to afford rent for average two-bedroom apartment (around the country): http://nlihc.org/sites/default/files/oor/2012-OOR-Housing-Wage-Map_0.pdf and some other interesting maps: Out of Reach 2012: National Low Income Housing Coalition
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Old 03-23-2012, 12:03 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
836 posts, read 1,777,762 times
Reputation: 887
I was hoping this information might eventually be of help to a family who is here and struggling, or may hit the hard times in the future... since all the threads stay on here indefinitely
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Old 03-23-2012, 12:31 AM
 
26,639 posts, read 36,696,773 times
Reputation: 29906
Quote:
Originally Posted by HappyNewMe View Post
I was hoping this information might eventually be of help to a family who is here and struggling, or may hit the hard times in the future... since all the threads stay on here indefinitely
Don't you think that people already in Alaska actually know these things already? Do you think that a struggling family isn't already aware of the PFD? Or food stamps? What good is it to a struggling family to tell them about housing assistance that only marginally exists?
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Old 03-23-2012, 03:17 AM
 
Location: Anchorage
836 posts, read 1,777,762 times
Reputation: 887
Quote:
Originally Posted by Metlakatla View Post
Don't you think that people already in Alaska actually know these things already?
Not necessarily. It was pretty hard for me to find out about some of those things before, if one doesn't know where to start and hasn't even heard about some options.
it's relatively easy to find out something if you have some idea or heard of something, - but next to impossible just to stumble across if you haven't. You'd be surprised how important and lifesaving mere information could be, found in right time! Yet, people generally assume that everything THEY know, everybody else also knows and has available to them, for sure.

I see, it was pretty stupid of me to write it in this thread. I rest my case
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