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CCF to accept new applications for "One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving CSSA"
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The following is issued on behalf of the Community Care Fund Secretariat:

     The Community Care Fund (CCF) will start receiving new applications from one-person households starting from tomorrow (January 2) for the "One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving CSSA" assistance programme (the Programme).

     The Programme aims to relieve the financial pressure on low-income households. The amount of subsidy for one-person households is $3,500.

     Beneficiaries should currently be renting accommodation in private housing, industrial or commercial buildings on a monthly basis (or for longer tenures); or renting bedspace offered under the Home Affairs Department's Singleton Hostel Programme; or residing in temporary housing; or living on board vessels; or homeless persons. Their monthly income must not exceed the specified limits. They should not be receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance or own any property in Hong Kong. For those renting accommodation in private housing, industrial or commercial buildings, their monthly rent should not exceed the specified rental limits. The income and rental limits for one-person households are $8,880 and $4,440 respectively.

     Starting from tomorrow, applicants can obtain the application form and programme brief from the service units operated by non-governmental organisations which assist in implementing the Programme, Public Enquiry Service Centres of the Home Affairs Department, District Social Welfare Offices of the Social Welfare Department and the Support Service Centres for Ethnic Minorities, or download them from the CCF website (www.communitycarefund.hk).

     Applicants should submit their application forms to the service units near their residences. Households with elderly people only (i.e. all members in the household are aged 65 or above), households with young people only (i.e. all members in the household are aged 24 or below) or homeless people can submit applications to elderly service units, youth service units or service units accepting applications from homeless people respectively.

      The CCF Secretariat (the Secretariat) and the service units will vet each application, including verifying the eligibility, checking the supporting documents submitted, and conducting visits/home visits and income tests on selected applications. The Secretariat will issue a notification of application result after vetting the applications and disburse the subsidy to eligible households. If households choose to receive the subsidy through direct payment into bank accounts, the subsidy will be deposited through autopay into the bank accounts as specified in their application forms. For households that choose to receive the subsidy in the form of order cheques, the specified applicants should bring their Hong Kong identity card and collect the cheques in person at the service units.

      The beneficiaries of the two CCF programmes rolled out earlier, namely the "Subsidy for Low-income Elderly Tenants in Private Housing" and the "Subsidy for Low-income Persons who are Inadequately Housed" (the existing programmes), are included as targeted beneficiaries of the Programme. After the Programme was rolled out on December 2, 2013, the Secretariat has first been verifying the eligibility of households that have benefited under the two existing programmes. As at December 30 last year, the Secretariat has received replies from over 13 000 households that confirm their eligibility.

     The CCF will start accepting applications from two-person households and three-or-more-person households on February 4 and March 3, 2014 respectively.

     For details of the Programme, please visit the CCF website or call the Secretariat hotline on 2180 6666.

Ends/Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Issued at HKT 14:01

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