WHO IS ASSISTANCE AVAILABLE FOR?
Assistance is available from WeAreAlive™ for the benefit of individuals who; 1) have a terminal illness or severe chronic illness that is an ongoing serious disability, 2) have a lack of adequate financial resources and assets after reasonable and necessary living expenses, 3) are unable to get the necessary assistance from a government agency or a charity who has assistance specific to their need or their illness, 4) who have a valid need that qualifies under the program and guidelines of WeAreAlive™, and 5) are residents of the United States with a social security number and valid state or federal picture ID or U.S. passport.
Assistance does not depend upon age or the type of illness.
Assistance does depend upon what areas funds are available for (See "Areas Of Assistance" on the bottom of the "About WeAreAlive" page).

WHAT TYPES OF ASSISTANCE ARE AVAILABLE?
MONETARY ASSISTANCE: WeAreAlive™ strives to obtain non-restricted funds from donors when possible. However, some donations and grants are restricted, meaning that the funds have to be used as directed by the donor. As funds are available for the specific type of assistance requested, WeAreAlive™ provides assistance for; medical co-pays, medical treatments, prescriptions, physician visits, medical equipment, medical supplies, home nursing care, home sitters, transportation, medical insurance premiums, rental assistance, utilities, deposits refundable to WeAreAlive™, local phone, food, linens, clothing, personal care items, cable TV if bed ridden, microwaves if not capable of conventional cooking, travel to bring loved ones together, etc.
RESOURCES: WeAreAlive provides assistance in directing its recipients to finding additional types of assistance that may be available for them from government agencies and other charities. WeAreAlive™ also assists recipients to find a social worker in the event they do not have one.
EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS: WeAreAlive™ assists its recipients in finding informational resources available for their specific illness. In certain areas, WeAreAlive™ also produces seminars and events such as the Alive - Health & Drug Fair™.

WHAT TYPES OF ASSISTANCE ARE NOT AVAILABLE?
WeAreAlive™ generally does not provide assistance for prior debts that will not affect a recipients continued care and well being; such as rent from a prior residence, utilities from a prior utility company, prior utilities that are no longer in the recipient's name or a household member's name, etc. WeAreAlive™ does not provide assistance for expenses when a recipient can make payment arrangements for them, such as; hospital care, medical procedures, rent, utilities, etc. However, WeAreAlive™ provides assistance for payments set-up on the payment plans. When WeAreAlive™ assists with past due rents, a letter is required from landlord stating that any eviction rights will not be excercised for at least the number of days that WeAreAlive™ is assisting with. WeAreAlive™ generally does not assist with expenses that should be paid for by; private insurance, medicare, medicaid, government agencies, charitable hospitals and care centers or other appropriate charities. For the most part, excluding any co-pays, most standard and approved medical care can be covered at charitable or government medical centers. Many sources are available for children. WeAreAlive™ will try to assist recipients with a list of resources for these areas. Assistance for debts of deceased recipients is not available. Due to the varible funds available, WeAreAlive™ does not commit to month to month assistance plans and most of the time is limited to a limited one time assistance. However, WeAreAlive™ will attempt to direct recipients to other resources.

HOW MUCH ASSISTANCE CAN I GET?
How much assistance an individual can get depends on many factors. Some of those factors are; the current status of WeAreAlive™ restricted or non-restricted funds that are available for the type of assistance requested, the number of requests expected during a budget period, the past and estimated future budget trend of WeAreAlive™, etc. Amounts of assistance per person are set on a monthly to quarterly basis by WeAreAlive™. Requests for assistance are handled on a month to month request basis, due to varible funds available. Therefore, WeAreAlive™ does not pre-arrange month to month assistance for recipients. Assistance from WeAreAlive™ is only paid to vendors providing services to recipients of WeAreAlive™. Checks for assistance are never paid directly to recipients, to other charities or to government agencies.

HOW DO I GET ASSISTANCE?
If you have a social worker (also referred to as an agency case worker or nurse case manager) please have them read the information on this website page and complete a WeAreAlive™ "Referral Form". This form is available on this website by clicking on the form name at the end of this page. This form has instructions on what information WeAreAlive™ needs and how to submit it to us. If you do not have a social worker, but can get one, please do so and have them follow the procedure noted above. If you do not know how to get a social worker then send an email stating so to WeAreAlive™'s email address at the end of this page. If you can not get a social worker for some reason then complete and submit the information needed below by yourself. Recipients and social workers who contact WeAreAlive™ by phone, should always be ready to furnish the recipient's social security number.

WHAT INFORMATION WILL I NEED TO PROVIDE?
To request assistance you will have to complete and sign a WeAreAlive™ "Request For Assistance & Release" form. This form is available on this website by clicking on the form name at the end of this page. This form has instructions on how to submit it to us. The form will indicate additional necessary information that will be needed, including but not limited to; 1) a letter within the past six (6) months from your physician stating that you have a terminal illness or life threatening severe chronic illness that is an ongoing serious disablity, 2) current financial information, 3) what other assistance you have applied for, 4) what type of assistance and how much you need and 5) copy of your social security card and a valid state picture ID or US Passport. If you have a social worker, they should have most of the information you will need on file and should be willing to submit the information to us with your permission. Social workers also have to complete and submit the social workers referral form as discussed above. Please submit your entire package at one time.

OTHER ANSWERS ABOUT ASSISTANCE!
If we did not answer all of your questions about assistance, just email us your question to the WeAreAlive™ email address at the end of this page and we will do our best to answer it. Please allow a few business days to receive a response, depending on the complexity of your question.

FORMS:
WeAreAlive™ "Request For Assistance & Release" Form
WeAreAlive™ "Social Worker's Referral Form"

EMAIL ADDRESS FOR ASSISTANCE:
requests@WeAreAlive.org

Revision Date: 11/01/01