City of Biddeford - General Assistance

The General Assistance Program is a State mandated, municipally administered financial assistance program. It was designed to be the program of “last resort” for residents of the community who are unable to provide for their basic needs. Applicants must provide verification of their income and expenses, residence, and if unable to work, medical documentation substantiating their work limitations. Applicants are required to seek work if physically able and/or to apply for assistance from any other programs that may be available to them. A determination of eligibility is made for a thirty-day period based on anticipated earnings. The General Assistance is the most accountable assistance program in the State of Maine. Applicants are required to take responsibility for themselves by endeavoring to become self-reliant. For disabled persons, this may mean applying for disability benefits, for able-bodied persons, obtaining meaningful employment. This is a voucher only program. Eligible applicants receive vouchers for rent, food, medication, utilities, etc. The vendors submit the vouchers to the City of Biddeford and payment is made directly to the vendor. There is no typical General Assistance recipient. A GA recipient may be a person who is temporarily out of work due to a layoff or illness; has a long-term physical or mental disability; or is employed and in an emergency situation through no fault of their own. Many recipients apply only once; others may apply each month for a long period of time. The GA program receives partial reimbursement from the State of Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Also, recipients who succeed in obtaining Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits reimburse the City of Biddeford for the assistance granted them while they were waiting for approval. The program is audited on a yearly basis by the Department of Health and Human Services to ensure that the City of Biddeford is in compliance with state statutes and DHHS policy. Each municipality in Maine is required by statute to employ a local Health Officer. The duties of the Health Officer are varied, ranging from addressing complaints concerning nuisances dangerous to life and safety to the reporting of communicable diseases. Due to the wide range of issues that are addressed by this position, the Health Officer acts in conjunction with, or as a liaison to, the agency that is most appropriate to address the concern.

Assistance for basic needs such as Rent, Food, Medication, Utilities, etc.