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Fiona Ma.
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Homeowner and Renter Assistance Program Could Help Elderly APAs
Fiona Ma works to educate community
By May Chow
AsianWeek Staff Writer
With the cost of housing so high in San Francisco, the California Homeowner and Renter Assistance (HRA) Program comes as a relief for many. John Mah, 67, is just one of the recipients of HRA, a program designed to help seniors and disabled people by providing them with a financial break.
“It is an especially good program for seniors that are low-income,” said Mah, who lives in the Sunset area. “Taxes on homeowners in San Francisco are so high that anything helps.”
The homeowner portion of the program ensures that seniors who have low-to-moderate fixed incomes will not have to be forced out of their homes because of property taxes. The homeowners’ assistance program credits a once-a-year payment from the state to qualified recipients based on property taxes paid by homeowners and indirectly paid by renters.
To be eligible for homeowners’ assistance, claimants must be at least 62 years old, blind or disabled, and have a household income of $37,119 or less as of Dec. 31, 2001. The program also requires that claimants must have lived in the home they own as of Dec. 31, 2001, and be U.S. citizens, designated aliens or qualified alien when the claim is filed.
For this year, returns in the between of $19.72 to $472.60 per month can be paid to those meeting the criteria.
The program also offers assistance to tenants with payments of up to $347.50. Renters must meet the same eligibility requirements as those applying for the homeowners program. Applicants in this category must pay at least $50 a month for rent. In both the homeowner and renter program, those who have the highest income will receive the lowest amount of assistance.
Seventy-one-year-old Zhi Jing Zhang, who lives in a house in the Sunset area with his 100-year-old father said he’s never heard about this program, but wants to apply for it.
“Yes, this will help me,” Zhi said in Mandarin. “But no one has ever told me about it. I receive less than $400 a month from social security and that goes to my rent.”
Fiona Ma, who is up for election in the District 4 Board of Supervisor race, has been working with APA senior citizens to get the word out on this program for the past four years, by holding public workshops and issuing newsletters. First working out of Senator John Burton’s office, Ma noticed that there weren’t a lot of APA names on the lists of those who applied for the program.
“Many people didn’t and don’t know that this program is out there to help them,” said Ma. “I’ve done press conferences with the Chinese press to let the elderly know that they are eligible for some cash back.”
She said that after her press conference, her office received many phone calls from APA seniors wanting to know more information.
“These people read it in the Chinese newspapers, that’s how they found out about it,” Ma said. “There hasn’t been much outreach on the part of the Franchise Tax Board in terms of bilingual communication. This is just a fair thing to do because we don’t want people to be missing out.”
Angel Fu, 66, said she read about the program in a Chinese newspaper. Her monthly income is less than $2,000 and so far she has received $300. She and her husband rent a house in the Excelsior District.
“Both my husband and I are old,” Fu said in Cantonese. “My husband does not work right now and I can’t physically do much work. Any money coming in helps us with day-to-day expenses. Right now, the money we get back helps us pay for rent.”
Eighty-year-old Tong He also heard about the program when he picked up the newspaper one day and read a story about it. He received $347 and his annual income is approximately $20,000.
“Even if it’s not a lot of money, this money means a lot to me,” He said. “I used my refund to pay for some of my expenses. This is great and I hope I can learn more about programs out there similar to this one.”
Mah said the Chinese newspapers are the best way to do outreach because a lot of seniors, like himself, speak very little English and would never have heard about these opportunities otherwise.
“I think it’s wonderful program to refund some portion of my property tax,” Mah said.
Those who are eligible should file claims with the Franchise Tax Board by Oct. 15, 2002. Go to www.ftb.ca.gov.
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