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My low income mom was asked to move in w/a 95 y/o rent free in her home in exchange for cooking, driving to doctor appts, being a companion, etc. She shares utility costs & food costs at a monthly cost to her of about $500-$600 a month. Her social security payment is $1400/month and she still has about $500/mo in other costs (car pmt, insurance) and misc bills. Though she does not pay rent, she is paying more in fiod & utilities sharing a big house than she did when on her own. She is currently waiting for section 8 to come thru.

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She got the bad end of the deal, didn't she? Get her out of there. No 83 year old should have to take care of someone else AND pay half the bills.
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re: Free food.
Yes, there are places in every state that provide free food, without having to go through food stamps, etc. Some of these places are St. Mary's Food Bank, Feeding America, Seniors Farmer's Market Nutritional Program, and more.

I was coming from the perspective of a caregiver having to prepare the meals for a loved one. I know budgets can be tight, and every little bit helps.

If you check with your local county, they often have a list of places to obtain food.
No, it is not only canned goods etc. They often provide meat, produce, and more.

Where I live, there is a place to obtain 60 pounds of fresh produce for $10... and all the food is fresh, no income requirements, and this food is salvaged from being tossed away, as it may not meet the perfect shape, size, that supermarkets purchase.

Meals on Wheels is for those that live in their homes alone, and cannot easily cook for themselves. They do rely on donations (usually about $3 per meal), but if a person cannot pay, they may still be able to obtain the food.

Does this information help?
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I'm curious as to what states pay for all this 'caregiving', providing compensation for taking care of the disabled, if not from a licensed agency. I'm curious as to where all this 'free food' comes from - church pantries? A bag potatoes, jar of peanut butter, some canned goods, and a loaf of day old bread are 'free food' - is the 83 year old going to be prepping and cooking? The whole thing just sounds so so wrong, like a disaster waiting to happen, if not now in a couple of years.
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I think it would be very helpful if posters would give specifics about so called "free" stuff if they infact know of its existance. As garden and arianne gave specific names of programs a person could look up and possibly benefit from. Just stating there are all kinds of "free" things is very frustrating to people who are already frustrated at finding help. Just MOP
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No, I doubt your Mom can get any financial assistance being she herself is 83 and is taking care of someone who is 95 years old. But the 95 year old could apply for Medicaid, and if accepted by Medicaid, the program could send an Aide over to give your Mom a break a couple hours per week. The County could send Meals-On-Wheels to give your Mom a break on cooking, and she would qualify for the meals, too.

Or depending on the 95 year old's health issues, he/she could qualify for full-time nursing care at a nursing home under Medicaid. I see your Mom is waiting on Section 8 housing. Could your Mom check and see if there are any senior housing where her rent would be based on her income? Or is that Section 8 in your area?
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This is a bad deal. I paid mother's caregiver $350 per week and gave her an apartment in the house with all utilities furnished. Her caregiver is only about 45 and took mother to all of her doctor appointments, bathed her and prepared her meals that I had cooked and left in the refrigerator. There was a lot of work to be done. Mother passed away at 104 and only needed a caregiver the last two years of her life.
At 83, depending on your mother's condition, I don't see why this couldn't be a win/win if the 95 y/o would pay all of the utilities and groceries and your mother was just living in the house to make sure that if she needed help someone could call 911. For that kind of situation, she should be paying nothing. It seems some people think that old age is a disease that must be treated by incarceration in a nursing home. There are lots of other options. My uncle 95 years old and his wife live in assisted living and have somebody come in to help out with personal needs. I have a friend (and many other acquaintances) who live in public housing for the elderly. Sounds like that's what your 83 yo mother is looking to get into. This is a very good alternative to having to maintain a private residence or going into assisted living if that level of care is not needed.
I agree that her disappointment should be shared with whoever she made this arrangement with, but I do not agree with the social worker. When you get the government involved, it is always bad. That goes for Medicaid too.
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Camilles, I am the source for the worker's comp requirement, and I am the one who privately shared it with FF as well as posted about it sometime ago here on the forum.

Frankly, I'm not comfortable providing any further information after reading about your long post in which you mention several times the fact that you've written a book, and, just as frankly, seem to be hawking it even though you don't specifically provide the title or cost.

If I'm wrong, I apologize, but your post seemed to me so much like a sales pitch, even absent the specific information.
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"If your mother is taking care of someone, and that person is disabled, she can receive money compensation for her efforts, if she is that person's caregiver." Camilles.

Edited my last post to add that I too question Camille's statement that the OP's mother can receive caregiver compensation if the person is disabled, unless Camille's referring to some specific disability allotment of which FF and I are unaware.

I think though that people who ask about being paid are inquiring about specific sources, i.e., the names of the programs, whether state specific, etc. I've done a lot of research and found no way I could be paid for caregiving other than by the person for whom I'm caring. Medicaid is not in the picture for us.

If I'm missing something, so are a lot of other posters here.
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Lassie --
About the "free food." I believe that the meals in question were those provided by the Meals on Wheels program, which varies from state to state. In my state, Florida, it may be free to some recipients, but there is a charge to those who can pay. It provides one meal a day. I've never tried it because the recipient has to guarantee to be home to receive delivery during set hours.
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Arianne, I think the "free food" might have referred to organizations such as Forgotten Harvest, Focus Hope and others. But my understanding was that, like Michigan's Bridge Card for food, they're income qualified.

MOW isn't free here either. The cost is nominal, but it's most definitely not free.

Guess you have to buy her book to know.
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