"CNSC is really many different Centers in one."

VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)

Each year on several Saturdays in February, March, and early April, CNSC sponsors a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Volunteers, trained by CPAs who are also volunteers, are on hand at CNSC and at Chinese for Affirmative Action to help clients figure out the often complex and confusing tax forms and paperwork. Thanks to the leadership of Gilbert Quong, Wing Hong, and over fifty community volunteers, CNSC was transformed overnight into a Volunteer Income Tax Assistance site. Over 2500 low income families benefited from free income tax assistance. Best of all, total tax refunds generated by the program exceeded $1,500,000! THE Year 2000 is the 26th year CNSC has offered this service.

INCOME ALTERNATIVE

CNSC helps people apply for cash welfare by assisting them in filling out the forms.
The welfare department now has bilingual personnel that specialize in Cantonese, Mandarin and other languages.

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FOOD DISTRIBUTION-- "Helping our Neighbors"

CNSC holds an annual Chinese New Year and Thanksgiving food distribution. Through outreach to ten different Chinatown agencies, over 1000 families receive bags of groceries. The Oriental Food Association donates groceries to supplement the food ordered from the San Francisco Food Bank. Our annual food bag distributions are made possible through funds from the Chao Suet Foundation and Poon Foundation. CNSC then turns around and distributes over 1000 articles of new clothing to local families. The women's and children's clothing is donated by The Gap. Delancey Street Foundation chose CNSC to handle the distribution.

COMPUTER LEARNING CENTER

Through a generous corporate donation of computers and equipment from AT&T, CNSC's new Computer Learning Center helps newcomers meet the challenge of the new millennium. Low cost Computer Classes offer instruction on such topics as word processing to searching the World Wide Web. The classes are conducted in Cantonese by experienced teachers.

SENIOR SERVICES

CNSC provides Seniors with all the tools they need to stay healthy and independent in the Community. The New Immigrant Resource Package, published by the United Commercial Bank, is a comprehensive on line resource guide to services available in San Francisco. This guide may also be obtained at any United Commercial Bank. We also assist low income seniors with form filing and, for qualifying clients, the fees involved.

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SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)

What Is SSI?
SSI is short for Supplemental Security Income. It pays monthly checks to people who are 65 or older, or blind, or have a disability and who don't own much or have a lot of income. SSI isn't just for adults. Monthly checks can go to disabled and blind children, too. People who get SSI usually get food stamps and Medicaid, too. Medicaid helps pay doctor and hospital bills.

Who Can Get SSI?
To get SSI, you must be 65 or older or blind or disabled. Blind means you are either totally blind or have very poor eyesight. Children as well as adults can get benefits because of blindness. Disabled means you have a physical or mental problem that keeps you from working and is expected to last at least a year or to result in death. Children as well as adults can get benefits because of disability. When deciding if a child is disabled, Social Security looks at how his or her disability affects everyday life. For more information about benefits for children, contact any Social Security office to ask for the booklet, Benefits For Children With Disabilities (Publication No. 05--10026). Sometimes, a person whose sight is not poor enough to qualify for benefits as a blind person may be able to get benefits as a disabled person if his or her condition prevents him or her from working. How Much Can You Get? It depends on where you live. The basic SSI amount is the same nationwide. However, many states add money to the basic benefit. You can call the Social Security Administration at 1-800-772-1213 to find out the amounts for your state.
Other Help You Can Get
If you get SSI, you also may be able to get other help from your state or county. For example, you may be able to get Medicaid, food stamps, or some other social services. For information about all the services available in your community, call your local social services department or public welfare office.

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SSI In California

People in financial need who are age 65 or older or people of any age (including children) who are blind or have a disability may be eligible for monthly cash payments from the federal government. The payments are called Supplemental Security Income (SSI). You may be eligible for SSI payments if you have little or no income, and if the value of the things you own is less than $2,000 if you are single, or $3,000 if you are married. The Social Security Administration does not count the value of your home. They usually do not count the value of your car. They may not count certain other assets. Call them for more information. In addition to meeting the income limits, you must live in the U.S. or the Northern Mariana Islands and be in one of the following groups:

• U.S. citizens or nationals;
• certain American Indians;lawful permanent residents with 40 work credits;
• certain noncitizens with a military service connection, and their spouses or unmarried dependent children;
• certain noncitizens lawfully residing in the U.S. who are blind or disabled, or who were receiving SSI on August 22, 1996; and certain Amerasian immigrants, Cuban/Haitian entrants, refugees, asylees or individuals whose deportation or removal has been withheld may be eligible for seven years after the date their immigration status was granted.

For more information about noncitizen eligibility requirements, ask for the factsheet, Supplemental Security Income for Noncitizens (Publication No. 05-11051). Also, you must apply for any other money benefits for which you may be eligible. Even though the Social Security Administration runs the program, SSI is not the same as Social Security. Money for SSI payments comes from the general fund of the U.S. Treasury. The state of California adds money to the federal payment. For the convenience of SSI recipients, the state of California and the federal government have agreed to include the amount in the federal payment. Therefore, SSI recipients receive one U.S. government payment during the first week of each month with federal and state money included.

For More Information You can get recorded information 24 hours a day, including weekends and holidays, by calling Social Security's toll-free number, 1-800-772-1213. You can speak to a service representative between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on business days. Our lines are busiest early in the week and early in the month, so, if your business can wait, it's best to call at other times. Whenever you call, have your Social Security number handy. People who are deaf or hard of hearing may call our toll-free TTY number, 1-800-325-0778, between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on business days. You also can reach us on the Internet. Type www.ssa.gov to access Social Security information. The people at Social Security can tell you what information you need to apply for SSI. Parents and guardians can apply on behalf of children under age 18 who are blind or have a disability.

FUTURE PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

A three-way collaboration between SFSU, TeamTech and CNSC could produce educational products such as CD-ROMs that CNSC can use for on-the-spot training. These products could also be incorporated into a social enterprise model of revenue generation. SFSU will provide the technological skills and CNSC will provide the intellectual property and design. Subjects could include citizenship tutorials, small business development, or apropos our newest grant - a Chinese language training video for janitorial hotel workers. We are especially grateful to Professor Hamid Khani who has contributed so generously to this effort. This is quite an aggressive agenda for the next few years. Even if only a handful of these great ideas evolve into reality, the impact to CNSC's outreach will be enormous. We owe a huge debt to the vision and generosity of TeamTech. As pieces fall into place over the next few months, we will invite you to stay tuned and LOG ON!

What are they saying about CNSC?

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777 Stockton Street, Suite 104, San Francisco, CA 94108
Tel: 415.421.2111 Fax: 415.421.2323 email: cnscsf@yahoo.com