Enroll LA dedicated to helping low-income communities receive the help they need for food and money

This week the “Enroll LA” campaign was launched, which aims to inform the most needy communities about temporary benefits, whether new and/or expanded or public and fiscal, such as the CalFresh food program and the tax credits that are available to families.

Representatives from various Los Angeles County organizations met virtually this week to announce the launch of this initiative that will be available in person and online.

One of the goals of the Enroll LA campaign is to raise awareness about services in their communities and participating organizations that can help families to see if they qualify for aid, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the federal California Tax Credit (Cal EITC) or the Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Some of these credits are even available to immigrants who have They do not have an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), explained Rosemary Veniegas, senior program officer at the California Community Foundation (CCF), which is overseeing the initiative.

For many years , CCF has worked in Los Angeles County to strengthen underrepresented communities by sharing opportunities with residents who need financial, food, housing and/or immigration status support, among others.

Veniegas added that these benefits help reduce the economic burden on the household.

“We all have this burden of the cost of paying taxes, but we certainly also want to get some relief for families. with children who are struggling during this period of the pandemic”, he added.

For organizations like Central City Neighborhood Partners (CCNP), this collaboration is vital as they will be able to continue supporting people who do not have access to the internet or do not know how to use a computer.

Margarita Álvarez, executive director of CCNP, said that the covid-19 caused many entities to start performing hybrid services. However, this was not the case for CCNP since they focused mainly on families that are not up to date digitally.

“A lot of the help that was coming in was that you had to do the application online or you had to do it on your cell phone using an app. So we knew that our families were not going to be able to do any of that,” he explained.

He said that last year while many VITA sites closed their services in person, CCNP increased them.

He explained that several people felt more comfortable seeing face to face those who were helping them, either with taxes or with any other available resource.

“We had a team that helped them apply for the stimulus , they created emails for them and offered help to ensure that our community could access those services,” said Álvarez.

“Many others were not even able to access any benefits due to the lack of knowledge with the internet or access to those services.”

Sandra Bonneville, manager of CCNP’s financial empowerment program, said she has been able to see the change that financial aid and other resources can make in families.

“One of our families this year is going to receive $23,000 due to the variety of taxes and credits for which they qualify, including child tax credits as well as EITC credits, the Cal EITC and the Young Child Tax Credit, which is incredible, because it is giving them back money that they will later spend in our communities,” he said.

He also recounted the experience he had with a older couple and those who receive pr primarily your income from Social Security benefits. She said that the husband was only able to work a couple of months during the year. In total, your earnings were approximately $15,000.

At CCNP they helped them do their taxes free of charge, through the VITA program, and they saved the $100 or $100 that they would have been charged elsewhere.

“ They have completed their tax returns and will now receive a refund of more than $2,000 that is due to them at this time,” Bonneville said. .

The most beneficial thing for this couple is that they found out right then and there that they can receive assistance with their new application or annual renewal for CalFresh benefits and could be part of the food security program for to go every week for a pantry, being able to save sometimes $40 or $50 in groceries.

In addition, the husband said that he wants to become a US citizen and it is something that the organization will also help them with.

Enroll LA is funded by CCF and engages 18 organizations to provide tax preparation, enrollment, and outreach services .