Another payday for persons on Household Assistance Program

The close to 1,000 persons eligible to receive financial help under the Government’s Household Assistance Program now have one extra reason to smile this Christmas after money was disbursed to their accounts today.

This is the second time for the month since a disbursement is being made under the program, bringing the grand total to approximately $1 million.

The program which was set up to assist needy families is being handled by the BVI Red Cross and the Social Development Department.

“We are putting out the second payments today (yesterday) for the total of $973,400, both bank and cheque,” BVI Red Cross Director, Helen Frett told BVI News Online yesterday.

“So we are putting a million dollars into the market today; hopefully all the banks will be able to pay them out by Friday [today].”

Who Benefits

In a previous interview, Frett informed that under the program 1,000 households were being targeted to receive $800-1200 per month for three months.  Persons selected are either unemployed or underemployed.

Family size is the deciding factor when it comes to how much money is distributed per household.

“If it’s just one person, it’s $800 and if its three to four then it’s a $1,000, and if it’s five and over its $1,200,” she added.

Frett noted that the $2.5 million Government implemented program welcomes other partners to come on board to assist financially.

Currently, the partners are the BVI Red Cross, the Department of International Development, Caritas Antilles, and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA).