Blue Water Community Action is an organization that helps people in the St. Clair County area by providing services and assistance. The non-profit will help people overcome challenges and escape poverty. The case management approach helps to connect low income families with programs that can help them with basic needs. This can include free food, home repairs, help with rent or mortgage payments, and energy assistance from LIHEAP. The main location of the company is in Port Huron, Michigan. To speak to someone at (810) 982-8541.
Assistance with bills from Blue Water Community Action (BWCA)
The government and Blue Water Community Action provide assistance with heating, utility, and energy bills to prevent loss of service for electricity, heating, and water. To be eligible, the households must have received a disconnection notice from their service provider. In order to qualify for utility assistance, applicants must demonstrate a need for assistance as well as an ability to pay their utility bills in the future. Income guidelines must be met in order to be considered for assistance. Utility assistance is mainly funded through annual events, grants, and programs like THAW, the Walk for Warmth, and LIHEAP. Other contributors include the Michigan Community Action Agency Association and the Michigan Department of Human Services.
Some families may not have enough money to pay for basic necessities like food or shelter. Occasionally, people may need to pay for expenses related to food, housing, transportation, and medical bills. Personal hygiene packets are available to help with these expenses. This program provides free personal hygiene items for families once a year to help them stay clean and healthy. To qualify for Personal Hygiene Packets, families and residents of St. Clair County Michigan have to meet the federal income poverty guidelines. they might have stuff like toothpaste, razors, shampoo, soap, toilet paper, deodorants, dish soap and free diapers
The Federal Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) provides free groceries and food to those in need. This is done by giving poor and low income people food from the USDA. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides food to St. Clair County households who need it to make meals. TEFAP items are also given to other service organizations and charities who help and provide to needy people. Some common non-perishable food items include peanut butter, dried or canned fruits, bread, canned vegetables, canned meats, and pasta products.
The BWCA Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides food assistance to low-income seniors and children. This organization provides food to people on a monthly basis so that they can have their basic nutritional needs met. The people who qualify for this need to be children, elderly citizens, or senior citizens who are all above the age of sixty. Free food boxes are given out to places like churches and food pantries in Port Huron, Michigan.
The MIEnrolls program is a Medicaid enrollment program that helps people sign up for Medicaid coverage. The community action agency manages it. If you are approved for Medicaid benefits through Michigan State, this program can help you learn about your health care options.
The HIR Program helps with housing-related issues. It gives you information on places to live, including shelters, rent help, and homes for people who are between homes. Clients can learn about resources like security deposits or low-interest loans for paying rent, and eviction prevention. The case management team helps tenants find long-term housing once they leave the transitional facility phase.
The Weatherization Program helps to make low income residents’ homes more energy efficient. This will help reduce energy costs. The homes of clients are weatherized effectively with materials that meet federal standards and are within the cost limitations set by the state of Michigan. This means that the government is working on ways to help people conserve energy, which will help lower utility bills and make it easier for people to keep their homes at a comfortable temperature. Installing insulation in your home can help save money on heating costs each year.
The tasks can include, but are not limited to, insulation, reducing infiltration, testing furnaces and water heaters, and other minor home repairs. The Blue Water Community Action Agency trains technicians to conduct energy audits of homes and assigns local conservation contractors to perform the improvements.
The CDBG program can pay for housing rehabilitation. The non-profit has been chosen to help improve the neighborhood by fixing up homes which are lived in by low to moderate income seniors and owners. This is done with the help of St. Clair County Metropolitan Planning Commission and Blue Water Community Action Agency. If you are a low-income home owner, you may be eligible for a loan that you don’t have to pay any interest on. This loan can be used to make repairs or improvements to your home.
Counseling and financial literacy
There are programs available from BWCA for seniors, including Payee Services. This will also include help with financial management and guidance. The assistance is offered to all those who meet income limits and are going through a financial hardship. This includes the elderly, people with disabilities, low-income families and households receiving SSDI payments, Social Security or Veteran benefits. Blue Water Community Action offers professional help with financial management and representative payee services. This includes help with planning of debt repayments, monthly budgeting, prompt payment of expenses, and more.
Individual Development Accounts, or IDAs, are a type of savings account that helps low- to moderate-income individuals save for a specific goal, such as buying a home, starting a small business, or paying for college. IDAs are matched with funds from a public or private source, which means that for every dollar saved, the account holder receives an additional dollar (up to a certain amount) to help them reach their goal. This program provides people with resources to help them save money. This program helps people who are working poor or have limited income. They can get help with building their financial assets and save money. The government is able to save money by giving people the opportunity to buy homes, pay for school, start and run small businesses, or receive higher education. In order to be eligible for the $AVE$ program, participants must be employed for at least one year.
This program will help you manage your money better by creating a personal savings plan, improving your credit, and developing a budget. If you save money in a Michigan $AVE$ IDA account, the government will triple the amount of money you saved. You can save up to $1,000 in the account, which can be used for a down payment on a first home purchase. If you do this, you will also receive up to three thousand dollars from the government as a match. The money you save can also be used for small business or education expenses, and it will be matched.
Blue Water Community Action helps families between January and April each year by providing the VITA – Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program. This means that the volunteers have been certified by the IRS to help people fill out their tax returns for free. This includes people who live in Michigan and whose family or individual tax situation qualifies them for this free service.
The Home Ownership Program provides potential buyers with information on purchasing a home. This book is about both buying and keeping a home. The agency is able to use federal government funds to help low to moderate income families have more opportunities to own a home. The company provides services to help with down payments, credit repair, financial literacy, and home inspections.
Foreclosure prevention is a process where you work with your mortgage lender to find a way to keep your home and avoid foreclosure. This is important because buying a home is a large financial investment. If you are struggling to make your monthly mortgage payment, Blue Water Community Action Housing Services can help. They offer prevention and counseling services to keep you in your home. The goal is to prevent a loan from going into default.
Early Head Start is a program that helps pregnant women, young children, and infants under three years old. The program is funded by the government. There are weekly visits to selected houses under this home-based program. There are also day-care or monthly socialization meets that are organized for both parents and children.
Head Start is a program that helps pre-school children by providing a safe environment, healthy meals, and health care. The goal is to prepare them with skills so that they can be academically successful in school, starting from kindergarten and upwards.