400 Job Positions Immediately Available
The reduction of the number of people living below the Federal Poverty Level will require a bold new initiative. The Harmonious Volunteer Center is training a new workforce to address environmental concerns affecting our health and well being while bringing an economic stimulus to reduce social stresses. There will be a job fair held at 2613 West Hunting Park Avenue, Transformation Center, Philadelphia, Pa 19129 on Thursday, February 20, 2020 from 10am until 4pm. The public is invited… We will help you overcome poverty. Irvin B. Shannon, Executive Director
Alternative to Subsidized Assistance from HVC
The Harmonious Volunteer Center under the direction of Agnes L. McRavion, CEO has instituted a Job Training Program for Paid Volunteer Positions. The nonprofit, nonpartisan corporation is now interviewing candidates interested in employment with flexible hours, competitive pay, rapid advancement opportunities, and benefits. A 40 week training program administered from the Office of the Executive Director, Irvin B. Shannon prepares individuals with Environmental Knowledge that utilizes civil society components. The course is administered in 3 phases. Phase one 8 weeks… Phase two… 12 weeks… Phase three 20 weeks…. Salaries are calculated at $15.00 per hour full time and $10 per hour part time….
How to apply for interview: Email Mr. Shannon at: hvcorder@hotmail.com to arrange an appointment.
Funding for this initiative is from non-governmental funds.
Our Legislatures have Eliminated General Assistance Cash
Governor Wolf signed into law the bill that eliminates cash assistance, therefore, we are in the fight once again…. On October 17th, 2019 we are discussing what can be done to reinstate this need support for citizens needing help.
Good News to Share!!! We won a victory!!!
PA reinstates general assistance cash grant program
Pennsylvanians once again can apply for General Assistance, a monthly cash program that aided the poorest individuals in the commonwealth before it was eliminated by the Legislature and then-Gov. Tom Corbett in 2012.
Last month, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court struck down the law that repealed the program, Act 80, saying the legislative process used to pass the bill was unconstitutional.
The program gave $205 monthly to about 60,000 people, many of whom were waiting for Social Security disability determinations.
The state’s Department of Human Services is working to implement the court decision, the agency said in a statement.
“We are currently working to update internal systems and train staff to determine eligibility and process general assistance cash benefits. Eligible Pennsylvanians will start receiving general assistance as soon as all updates are completed,” according to a statement.
Those approved for the program would not receive any benefits until September. The program cost the state about $150 million annually.
Steve Miskin, a spokesman for state House Majority Leader Dave Reed, R-Indiana, questioned how the administration would pay for the program.
“Has the governor looked at the fiscal impact?” he said.
Applications will be accepted either online or on paper at local county assistance offices. Information will be posted in the county assistance offices and on the state website(link is external). The DHS toll-free helpline is 1-800-692-7462.
“There are a lot of people who are really in desperate straits, many of whom are homeless, who will find this to be a tremendous relief,” said Richard Weishaupt, a senior attorney at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, who litigated the case against the state.
“This is great for people who have a temporary disability and need some assistance now, or who are struggling with domestic violence … anyone who is in a drug or alcohol treatment program,” said Trish Romano, director of Wood Street programs for Community Human Services in Downtown Pittsburgh
The program was critical for single adults without dependent children who are in many cases ineligible for other forms of assistance, she said.
“The people who need these benefits need them urgently,” said Ken Regal, executive director of anti-hunger advocacy group Just Harvest.
While county assistance office staff should be able to answer questions, the agency will consider any applications that were submitted since June 18 — 30 days before the court’s July 18 decision, the Department of Human Services said.
From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Good News From the Harmonious Volunteer Center
It has taken years to develop workable alternatives to the reform and issues surround General Assistance. The management of the Harmonious Volunteer Center has found some real life answers that addresses the concerns of subsidizes / employment / training, medical and health. We will be coming back to the initiatives started when Governor Corbett signed the bill to make the abolishment of General Assistance A Law.
Employee Training and Job Opportunities
To Whom It May Concern
As of April 1, 2018 the Harmonious Volunteer Center is interviewing Mature Candidates for Training Positions. The Nonprofit Organization has designed a transfer system from Volunteer Training to Paid Training to Part Time and Full Time Employment. Eligible candidates for training must be 55 years of age or older.
I am Irvin B. Shannon, Executive Director, Harmonious Volunteer Center based in Philadelphia, PA and I encourage you to share this training and employment opportunity information to others and contact me at Email: hvcorder@hotmail.com. Wherever you are located in the United States of America, I ask you to Join with me in a program that brings an economic stimulus into our under served neighborhoods and aids you with the services you provide for your members in need.
Please contact me at email: hvcorder@hotmail.com upon receipt of this information whereby I can share and explain the specifics of this program.
Welcome to the HVC Orientation:
Your Instructions (Philadelphia Only at this time)
*Attend an overview presentation of the Harmonious Volunteer Center (one hour)
*Telephone Career Coach at Maturity Works to arrange a registration appointment. You will be given instructions. Maurice White 257-886-8838. Tell him Mr. Shannon told you to call.
*Present this letter to Mr. White when you arrive at his office.
*Upon your eligibility and completion of registration, request your assignment with the Harmonious Volunteer Center.
*Once assigned to the Harmonious Volunteer Center, your official training begins as well as your Job Search. Please note that HVC is training you to become un-subsidized HVC Ambassadors.
Alternative Measures concerning General Assistance
The Harmonious Volunteer Center continues in its efforts to find alternative ways to help individuals who are on or have been receiving subsidized assistance. HVC has come up with several approaches that may be of help for:
a. The physically challenged
b. Veterans in Need
c. Single parents with multiple children
d. Senior Citizens
Contact: Irvin B. Shannon at 267-595-5278 or Email: hvcorder@Hotmail.com for information concerning help and/or assistance programs.
LAW SUIT FILED FOR GA RESTORATION
Lawsuit seeks restoration of Pennsylvania’s General Assistance for the disabled
By Miriam Hill
Inquirer Staff Writer
Post a commentAdvocates for the disabled on Monday sued the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, demanding the restoration of the state’s cash assistance program.
The lawsuit, filed in Commonwealth Court, was filed on behalf of three former recipients of General Assistance, which had paid $205 a month to poor disabled people. Gov. Corbett and the legislature eliminated the program in June to save $150 million a year.
In the filing, Billie Washington, the lead plaintiff, said she had been receiving General Assistance since last fall because rheumatoid arthritis and other illnesses had left her unable to continue working as a home health care attendant.
She lost those benefits when General Assistance ended Aug. 1. She has been applying for Social Security disability, but that process typically takes two years, and the state’s program had served as a stopgap for many people while they waited to qualify for federal help.
In a news release by Community Legal Services, which filed the suit along with Young Ricchiuti Caldwell & Heller and the Disability Rights Network of Pennsylvania, Washington said she did not know where to turn.
“I don’t want to end up in a homeless shelter,” she said.
The suit argues that general assistance had allowed the 68,000 Pennsylvanians who had received it to pay for basic needs, such as food and housing.
Anne Bale, a spokeswoman for the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, said she could not comment because agency officials had not seen the suit.
The plaintiffs also want to overturn a change to state funding for social services that allowed some counties to shift money out of health and intellectual disability services. Corbett administration officials have said that change was meant to give local governments greater flexibility combining various funding streams into a single block grant.
The suit argues that the legislature got rid of General Assistance and implemented the block grants without following proper procedure.
The legislature “made historic and sweeping changes to seven different programs in a single omnibus bill that had no connection to the bill’s original narrow purpose and language,” a violation of the state constitution, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said.
The case also says that the block-grant program gives county governments unlawful spending authority.
“All we are looking for is a fair and level playing field,” said Michael Froehlich, a lawyer with Community Legal Services. “If Pennsylvania really wants to eliminate General Assistance, a last-resort safety-net program for nearly 70,000 people with disabilities who are unable to work, it ought to be done lawfully and consistent with our state constitution.”
Contact Miriam Hill at 215-854-5520, hillmb@phillynews.com or @miriamhill on Twitter.
The Petition to Save General Assistance
This Petition to be delivered to: The Pennsylvania State House, The Pennsylvania State Senate, Governor Tom Corbett, The United States House of Representatives.
To sign it, pleas go to this link:
Use the on-line petition form above.