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**FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE**
March 31, 2009
Contact: Matt Mittenthal
212.669.4691; 917.597.4485
Gotbaum Promotes Bengali Guide to Public Benefits; Encourages Immigrants to Access Food Stamps and Bring Millions into NYC Economy
QUEENS – Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum, along with Council Member Eric Gioia, today in Jackson Heights promoted a comprehensive Guide to Public Benefits for Immigrants in New York City in Bengali. The free guide provides valuable information on federal, state and city benefits and is the first of its kind to specifically examine immigration status as part of benefit eligibility. The Public Advocate first released the guide in November 2008 in six languages, including English, Russian, Chinese, Spanish, Korean and Bengali.
More than three million immigrants live in New York City, approximately one-third of all New Yorkers. In 2006, according to the New York City Human Resources Administration, 83,000 non-citizens were eligible but not enrolled in food stamps. The average food stamp benefit for a single person household as of January, 2009, is $133 a month, therefore New York City is losing approximately $132.5 million a year in federal funding by not connecting these New Yorkers with food stamps.
Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum said, “Immigrants bring our neighborhoods to life and make our culture the most diverse in the country. Low-income working immigrants may need government help, for themselves or their families, but many do not know how to access the benefits they need. We’re here today to promote a very important resource for the Bengali community and let immigrants know that this guide offers crucial information about federal, state, and city benefits.”
Councilmember Eric Gioia said, "I would like to commend the Public Advocate for working hard to create this important guide for New York's immigrants," said Councilman Eric Gioia. "New Yorkers, no matter where they are from or what language they speak, have the right to know what benefits they are entitled to. However, all too often the language barrier makes access to benefits more difficult than it needs to be. This guide is a common sense solution that will go a long way towards make life easier for New York's immigrants while also creating a healthier New York."
Many immigrants do not apply for benefits because they fear it will put their immigration status at risk or jeopardize their chances of becoming a permanent resident or citizen. According to the NYC Dept of City Planning Report, The Newest New Yorkers, there are more than 42,000 Bengali-born immigrants living in New York City, and 31 percent of them live in poverty.
According to the latest data available from the New York City Department of City Planning, 48 percent of immigrants are not English proficient and one of five live in poverty, earning less than $21,200 for a family of four.
Overall, immigrant families face greater barriers to enrollment in public benefit programs than citizens because they are often unaware of the benefits for which they may be eligible and because of misinformation. Not only do they face language barriers, but they also fear that applying for benefits will jeopardize their immigration status.
The Guide to Public Benefits for Immigrants is written at an eighth grade reading level to make it accessible to as many people as possible. The information is presented in a user-friendly format and it also includes an FAQ section on applying for benefits.
For each benefit, the guide provides information on:
• Who qualifies based on immigration status
• Income limits and other requirements for qualification
• Contact information, including phone number and web address, and information on how to locate the nearest office for the agency that administers the benefit
• Information on how to get an application in various languages
For copies of this guide, contact the Office of the Public Advocate at 212-669-7250. The guide can also be downloaded and printed in 6 languages at www.pubadvocate.nyc.gov.
For help applying for a benefit, call the Office of the Public Advocate at the number above. For help with immigration-related legal matters, please contact the NYS Immigration Hotline (212) 419-3737 or (800) 566-7636. The hotline can answer questions about immigration and naturalization in 17 languages and refer callers to an organization that can help.
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