Free Spaying and Neutering in Various Locations Across the U.S.

While meeting for a card game with a colleague, she excitedly told me about a speaker at her branch library from Humane Ohio, a low-cost pet spay and neuter organization in Toledo, Ohio.  Apparently, the speaker's animal welfare evangelism was contagious, and she got caught up in it.  Now she was spreading his word that Humane Ohio had a new program--totally FREE spaying and neutering for feral (free roaming) cats in the 43609 and 43605 zip codes in Toledo. That is, as long as the grant money holds out.

I've written before about low-cost programs for animal care but mostly with an eye towards reducing costs.  But if the need for animal control in a particular community is great--and they can find grant money to pick up the costs--some programs are picking up all the costs for spaying and neutering for needy clients.  In Toledo, the cat overpopulation program in those zip codes made them a target for Humane Ohio.  But there are programs available in other cities, too.

In Los Angeles, the Animal Services office offers free spaying and neutering for dogs and cats owned by disabled and elderly low-income citizens if you qualify  In Maricopa County Arizona (which includes the city of Phoenix), the county Animal Care and Control Office has a set amount of vouchers for free dog and cat spaying and neutering each month for which you can apply. 

In New York City, the Mayor's Alliance for New York City Animals has, among its low-cost programs, a free spay, neuter and vasectomy program for pit bulls (that vasectomy thing is a new one on me.  All the population control, none of the loss of hormones).  In Manatee County Florida, there are free spay/neuter programs available for residents that meet low-income requirements.  The hotline number is 941-749-3067.  In Travis County/Austin Texas, Emancipet has a mobile unit that performs free spaying and neutering.  It's first come, first served, and means waiting in line to sign up your pet.

For more locations for free (or, more likely low-cost) spaying and neutering, see this ASPCA site.

Money for Urban Farmers in Detroit, New York

Now that population losses have given Detroit vacant land equivalent in size to the entire city of Paris, some people are making lemonade out of a lemon situation and turning the vacant land to farmland.   Backyard horticulture in the D was always strong, as befitted a city with lots of relocated peasants and sharecroppers and their descendants, but now it's turned into bigger business.  It's reclaiming at least some of the land, and creating a chance to make healthful food available in a city where many of the supermarkets fled. 

Charter One Bank has announced the availability of some small grants for farmer's markets in the city, and vendors at Eastern Market, the city's biggest market.  The vendors at Eastern Market are eligible to apply for grants of between $500 to $3,000.  In addition, eight to ten grants ranging for $500 to $3,000 are available for urban farmers for equipment, land, or other materials. These are for farmers that complete farm training program at the Greening of Detroit, The Garden Resource Collaborative, Earthworks Urban Farm or the Detroit Black Community Food Security Network. 

In New York City, the Farm City Fund makes loans available to urban agriculturalists in the New York metropolitan area.  Loans for new ag businesses, or the expansion of existing ones, range from $5,000 to $30,000.  Only 5 loans will (and probably have been made) in 2012, but the program is expected to grow.

Low-Cost Help for Bike Transportation

Cars are still the overwhelming transportation of choice for Americans, and lots of people are looking for financial help in obtaining cars.  But bicycle enthusiasts around the country are creating  community bicycle organizations, co-ops,  and other organizations providing low-cost help to people who want to transport themselves with bikes. 

What do these organizations, many of them staffed by volunteers, do?  Some provide low-cost bicycle rentals, or "bike sharing."  Some provide low-cost places and equipment to fix one's own bike, bike safety lessons for teens and kids, provide low-cost recycled bike parts for repair, or offer low-cost repaired, recycled bikes for sale, Some offer opportunities to learn how to fix your own bike, or allow you to "work off" the cost of bike or bike repairs by volunteering with the organization.  It depends on the organization.  Check with your local bike organization for its latest policies and projects.

 As usual, this blog spotlights Toledo and we'd like to put in a word for our very own Toledo City Bike Co-Op.  The co-op sells donated bikes that have been meticulously overhauled (starting at $75), or more simply repaired donated bikes (running between $20-$75),  They also provide access (for $5 an hour) to the DIY repairs shop, where you can access tools.  Also, if you volunteer to repair other bikes, you can get access to the shop for 1 hour for each hour of volunteer work that you donate.

***update: here's the website for the New York bike sharing program.

Where to Look for Burial Funding Assistance

Providing the poor with a decent, dignified burial is one of the oldest social services on earth.  If you need help with the expenses of burying a loved one, here are some places to look:

--If your locality has a 211 agency referral number, call ask the referal experts to see if there are any agencies that provide burial expenses.  If your area has a searchable website, search under "burial/creamation expense assistance."

The Funeral Consumers Alliance, a fine organization, has a page devoted to indigent funerals, including a state-by-state chart of public funeral funding.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs also provides some assistance to members of federally recognized tribes if they lack other resources.  See this site for details on how to file for assistance. 

--Your state's social service agency.  Some help with burial expenses for poor people.  In Michigan, this is the website for burial assistance.   

Another source for help in Michigan for the families of those who commit suicide is the nonprofit group Six Feet Over, which offers assistance with the cleanup, funeral and memorial for the victim.  See their website (bottom of the page) for financial assistance).

 --In the city of Toledo, the Cemetary Office of the Department of Parks and Recreation handles the cremation and burial of indigents.  Their website is in need of modifications.  Please call directly at 419 936 3081.

 --FYI, here's a page from the Ohio Legislative Services (albeit 2007) on the obligation of local and state government to provide burial or cremation for certain poor people, like veterans and residents of state institutions.  According to 9.15 of the Ohio Revised Code, if an indigent person dies and is not a resident of an institution, the city or municipality must pay for the cost of a burial or cremation.  The government body is not absolved of the cost of a burial or cremation if the body is claimed by an indigent person.

--Here's a listing of some indigent burial services in the greater Cleveland area, courtesy of the 211 referral service.

--Some counties help with indigent funerals.  In Florida, contact your county's human services agency.

--In Oregon, indigent burial costs can be applied for at the state Department of Health.

--In Pennsylvania, here's the state regulations and who to contact for indigent burial.

--In Alaska, here's the site of the state social service agency that has "limited" funds for that.

--In Alabama, the county has the responsibility to provide a small sum for the burial of indigents, and those whose relatives cannot bury them.  In the case of deaths on the job, the employer is supposed to pay up to $3000 towards the funeral.

--In Illinois, it's covered by the Department of Family and Community Services, and here's the informational link.  For more information, call  (217) 524-5294 or (217) 558-6653. 

--In the District of Columbia, there's the Department of Human Services, which will give $800 towards a funeral or $450 for a cremation.  The total cost of the funeral cannot be over $2000.

--In Louisiana, the burial of paupers may be paid for by the municipality or parish where they died, with each city or parish establishing the maximum amount paid.  If the pauper were in a state institution, the state of Louisiana is responsible for their burial.

--In Georgia, the county deals with costs for the burial of indigents, and you start by contacting the county's Department of Social Services. Here's a useful publication to give more details--see #16.

--Here's the state information on indigent burial assistance in the state of Indiana.

 .--In New York, there is a guide for burial assistance options.  It's been updated (2011) and may give you an idea of where to go for help. There’s also assistance for New York City residents of up to $900 and an application online.

--For indigent people of the Jewish faith in the New York City area, the Hebrew Free Burial Association will provide a religiously and culturally appropriate funeral.

--Social security.  There is a small lump sum amount at the death of a Social Security recipient ($255).

--Was the deceased a veteran?  Besides VA benefits, some states have burial funds for veterans.  For veterans who have died in military conflict, while a resident of a VA-approved nursing home, receiving veteran's pension or other circumstances, they may be entitled to more compensation.  See this page.  Check your state's veterans office.  Here' the information for Ohio veterans burial benefits.

--Did they die as the result of a crime?  Some states have benefits for those who have died as the result of a crime

--Did they die as a result of a federally-declared disaster?  If so, and the family has no financial resources for burial, they may be eligible for disaster aid.   If so, contact FEMA at 1 (800) 621-FEMA (3362) for more information.

--Religious organizations. If you are a member of a church or denomination, they may help the burial of indigent people in that faith. 

--If the deceased is a child, there are organizations that assist in funding the burial of children in parts of the U.S.  The Unforgettables helps with funeral expenses of children in Orange County, San Bernadino and Riverside, California.  AMT Children of Hope, based in the New York City area, works to prevent the abandonment of infants, but also provides assistance for the burial of children.  Child Burial Assistance Inc. of Georgia also helps child burials in that state.  In Michigan, the Olivia Raines Foundation helps up to $500 with the cost of an infant's burial.  In California, the Emilio Nares Foundation helps with the cost of children who die of cancer in their area of service.  Call 1 (877) 507-7788 for more information.

AgapeCare Cradle, Inc offers financial help for the burial of infants in the Witchita, Kansas area.

The Tears Foundation will assist in funding the burial of an infant between 20 weeks gestation and 1 year old in the states of New York, Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Jersey and Washington state, if there are sufficient funds.  You can contact them at (253) 200-0944.

--The angels of Aidpage came up with another winner: a page full of suggestions on burial financial help.  They include references to several individual cities.  like Milwaukee,   The link to Nashville is dead, but I found the new Nashville burial help site here, and here is the Maryland burial site.  Colorado has burial assistance also.

--Another possibility is crowdfunding. See this blog entry for more.

***See more on indigent burial at this entry.****

Another Way to Receive Low-Cost Legal Help: the Pro Se Clinic

People are familiar with pro bono (donated) legal services, but there is another way to get low-cost legal help if you need it.  It's the pro se clinic, in which lawyers, law students or paralegals donate their services to help low-income people fill out the legal forms they need that help laypeople do their own footwork in court for a small fee, or free.

In a post a short while back, we discussed one of these types of pro se clinics: those that help ex-offenders fill out the paperwork to get their criminal records expunged or sealed.  However, there are clinics covering other work, too: in Lucas County, Ohio (Toledo), the Toledo Bar Association runs pro se clinics for Juvenile Court and family law and well as expungement, with plans to run them from guardianship and bankruptcy.  For more information on these, contact Pat Intagliata at 419-242-9363.  Since the help involved is direction on how to fill out and file forms, it is often restricted to uncomplicated cases.  For instance, the Lucas County Pro Se Clinic for divorce is only for cases where there are no minor children involved.  When things get complicated, clients are advised to get either a private or pro bono attorney.  In New York City, there are several projects being done for the elderly, incarcerated mothers, immigrants, the HIV positive, and in microenterprise by Volunteer Legal Services.

How do you find these in your area?  One place to look is the online directory of court pro se clinics.  These are run in the courts themselves (like a district federal court or bankruptcy, for instance).  Another is the directory of places to go for free/low cost legal help from the American Judicature Society.  You may ask the local legal aid office in your community.  You can also search google for "pro se clinic" (in quotes), and the name of your city or the type of law you are dealing with, such as bankruptcy or divorce.  Or, you could contact your local bar association. Another possibility is a local law school--sometimes, their students will fill out forms under the supervision of their professors.


***Important: Because a clinic is "pro se" doesn't necessarily mean it's free or low-cost.  "Pro se" just means that it helps you do your own legal work.  Commercial, for-profit companies may do these clinics, too.  When you contact and ask them, ask HOW MUCH it will cost you.  Don't assume it's free or low-cost.