MINUTES OF THE TENANTS ASSOCIATION MEETING FEBRUARY 26, 2023

 

 MINUTES OF THE TENANTS ASSOCIATION MEETING

FEBRUARY 26, 2023 – 1:00 P.M.

AUDITORIUM

 

The meeting was called to order by President Janet Smith.

Zoom meeting with Senator Hashmi:  The Senator received the study and read it, and indicated she thought it was well researched and well written.  Janet informed her that we needed to refer back to the original DSS Study (HD6.)  We need to: Define Independent Living; regulate it; let DSS administer it; state ombudsman; and higher fines for non-compliance.  This is the minimum the Association would like to see in any new legislation during the next session.  The Senator would like to come speak to our tenants either in March or April.  Jnet is sending her Chief of Staff dates for March and April Association Meetings.  If those don’t work, we’ll get with Whitney to accommodate.  It was a very productive meeting.

Rental Law in the General Assembly:  None of the rental law sponsored by Senator Hashmi or Delegate Price passed.  Most didn’t get out of Committee.

Goals for Board 2023

·        Continue with Food Bank/Raffles.

·        Making Tenants Association a non-profit so we can get grant money. 

·        Train up the Board in Fair Housing law, VRLTA, etc.

·        Do more lobbying with Legislature.

 

The “hunger cliff”:  This will affect more than 470,000 Virginians and is the result of the Omnibus bill passed by Congress that ends extra SNAP allotments in February 2023. On average, each SNAP recipient will lose about $82 monthly, with average benefits falling to just $6 a day. This impending cut will hit all age groups and all parts of Virginia. The steepest cliff will be for many older adults who only qualify for the minimum SNAP benefit – dropping from $281 a month to only $23.  Check out the blog for ways to get free food.  Also check out the food bank on Tuesdays in Camellia around 10:00 a.m.

Janet recognized 5 people for their good works by presenting them with Proclamations.  Recipients were:  Pinky Harrison for her work with the raffle this time.  Paula Thrasher for keeping the books and the President straight.  Others were George Rinick, Stanley Taylor, and Frank Woodson for their work with the food bank.

Janet demonstrated safety gadgets procured by Steve Harrell.  The Association is selling them to tenants.  Building advocates have order sheets; contact them to order.  Tenants must prepay.

Follow up on January 12 meeting with Management:

•      Cockroaches – Appear to be getting better.

•      Bed bugs – apartments next door and above and below infected apartments are being treated as well.

•      Laundry Facilities – Mr. Wilkins is still working on this.

•      Plumbing – Still having broken pipes, floods, etc.

•      Heating/Air Conditioning Filters – Director of maintenance informed Janet they would begin working on this last week.  Not sure if that happened.  Hers was changed because she called.

•      Smoke Alarms – Kenyon had no plans to begin this.

Two slots are going to be open on the Fair Housing Board this year.  Janet will apply and encourages others to do the same.

Restricted Access – last weekend came in Saturday and Sunday around 1:00 – 1:30 p.m.  No one on the gate.  Wide open. It is supposed to be manned from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Assisted living has been put on hold. No further details.

Pesky neighbors:  There are people in all buildings knocking on doors in the wee hours of the night.  Hours range from midnight to 3:00 a.m.  A woman was arrested in Boxwood for allegedly robbing her neighbor.  Her preliminary hearing was Friday, March 3^rd.  The case is going to the Grand Jury for indictment.

Important websites:

The TA Blog:  https://hotelcaliforniarichmond23227.blogspot.com

Lowincomerelief.com - https:/lowincomerelief.com

A Question and Answer period followed.  Not a lot of questions this time.

The association gave away door prizes:  4 Keychain alarms and food.

A motion was made to adjourn the meeting, and seconded. Voting was unanimous to adjourn.

 

**Janet has received several comments about how good and informative the meetings are and has been complimented on the work she and the Board are doing.  She wants to remind all tenants that the Association belongs to them and that she and the Board work for the Tenants.

 

Respectfully submitted,

 

Mark Childress, Secretary 

 

MEETING OF LIV TENANTS ASSOCIATION March 26, 2023

There will be a meeting of the LIV Tenants Association this coming Sunday, March 26, 2023, in the Auditorium at 1:00 p.m.

Topics for discussion are:

·       Call to order

·       Follow up from January 12 meeting with management

o   Roaches

o   Bedbugs

o   Heating/AC Filters

o   Washers and Dryers

o   Smoke Alarms

o   Cleaning of Garages

o   Front gate not manned weekends during days

o   People sleeping in lobbies and in courtyard

o   Sent management copy of survey results

·       Amazon – rise in fees for grocery delivery

·       Sale of land in the upper 40

 We will have door prizes!  Be there or be square.  

FREE FOOD!!!

Here are some resources for free food per Low Income Relief https.//www.lowincomerelief.com.

Ways to Get Free Food

 

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Depending on where you live, you may know this program by other names. It has been called food stamps, basic food, SNAP, EBT, etc. It just depends on what your state chooses to call their program.

No matter what it’s called, this program provides basic food assistance to low income families across the United States.

If you are eligible for this program, the government will send you an EBT card and will deposit money onto that card every month. The card works a lot like a debit card, except that it can only be used to purchase eligible food items.

On average, households get around $240 every month from this program. During the pandemic, many households received a boost of benefits.

The lowest amount that eligible households will receive is $20 in free food per month. Some people don’t think it’s worth it for that price, but there are ways to double your benefits. We’ve even found almost 1,000 freebies and deals for people with SNAP benefits!

You can apply for food stamps online.

 

Women Infants & Children (WIC)

Officially called the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women Infants and Children, this program provides free food for pregnant, postpartum or breastfeeding women as well as children under the age of five.

Depending on where you live, this program may provide boxes of food, vouchers to purchase specific food items, or benefits on an EBT card to help you purchase WIC-approved foods. It just depends on your local program.

You can usually apply for WIC at county health departments, hospitals, community centers, schools and more.

 

USDA Commodities Program

The USDA Commodity Supplemental Food Program provides a monthly package of healthy nutritious food to seniors ages 60 and older. This program distributes fruits, meats, peanut butter, vegetables, legumes, dairy, grains and more to eligible seniors.

You can usually contact your local Area Agency for Aging for more information.

Free Meals from Restaurants

There’s a really cool service called Free Meals that provides free nutritious restaurant meals to families in need. You can request a meal if you are sick, unemployed, or if you are a senior or single mother who can’t afford a meal.

The program screens every applicant, but those who are accepted will receive a free meal for four people. The meal can be picked up or delivered from the restaurant. Visit freemeals.org to apply.

 

Free Food Options for Everyone

There are a few options that offer free food for everyone, regardless of age, income, or other factors. If you aren’t eligible for the other items on this list – or even if you are! – the options below should be able to help you.

Food Banks

Many food banks will serve anyone regardless of age or income level. Depending on where you live and what is available in your area, your local food bank may provide nonperishable food, meat, dairy, fresh bakery goods, pet food, diapers, Christmas gifts and so much more.

We have found some really incredible offerings by food banks all over the country.

You can find a free food bank in your area at feedingamerica.org or by calling 211.

 

Community Meals

There are churches and charities all over America that offer free community meals to those in their area. For example, we have six or seven churches in our area that offer meals on different days.

You can find your local free meal sites by calling 211 as well.

Use this App - IBOTTA

If you would like to get free food while you’re shopping at the regular grocery store, try the Ibotta app!

There are some really great deals on Ibotta and some of the rebates completely cover the purchase price, making the items you get completely free.

Many of our users have used their EBT benefits alongside Ibotta to get cash back on their food stamps purchases. It’s really awesome because you can spend all of your food stamps benefits and get cash back that you can use on other non-food essentials.

 

National Hunger Hotline

Even if none of these programs work for you, you can always call the USDA National Hunger Hotline for help finding free food in your area. You can contact the hotline by calling 1-866-3-HUNGRY or by texting the word food to 914-342-7744.

This hotline is operated by Hunger Free America and offers service in English or Spanish. Representatives are available to help you between 7am and 10pm Eastern time.

Lasagna Love

I love this program. No matter the reason, you can request a home-cooked lasagna or main-dish to be brought to your family for one night.

Over 30,000 volunteers have worked together to deliver over 200,000 lasagnas to families in need of love and kindness. This service is available in the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada and Australia.

You can request a free home cooked lasagna at lasagnalove.org.