Being Alive; June 1997
Fran McDonald

If you travel by bus or use taxi, dial-a-ride, or lift-van services and are disabled, Cityride can be a real boost for your budget. Cityride uses a form of scrip, a book of 60 scrip stickers which can be used to pay for services. To pay for an MTA disabled pass, for example, the charge is 12 stickers; for taxis, dial-a-ride, or lift-van, the charge can vary among transportation services, but the driver is not allowed to take more than 8 scrip stickers per ride. (If the fare is more than $8 for the ride, the difference must be paid in cash to the driver.)

The charge for the book of scrip tickets itself is $15.32 (that includes the postage to mail it to you). If you receive SSI and/or Medi-Cal the charge is only $6.32. For information on applying for disability eligibility for Cityride, call 213.808.7433, and be sure to ask for a copy of the Cityride User's Guide, which lists service providers and their phone numbers.

In order to protect yourself, when you receive each Cityride scrip book, tear off the portion of the cover containing your name and address so that you don't have any unexpected strangers at your door-if you lose your scrip book anyone who finds it and sees your address will know exactly where to find you.

Renter Assistance

This year's claim form for Renter Assistance should be ready by the end of this month. If you qualify, you should file for this cash payment. For those of you who don't know about this program, it is a once-per-year rebate to individuals who meet the following criteria:

* If you lived in a rental unit for which the landlord paid property taxes in 1996 and where the rent was $50 or more per month;

* If you had total household income of $13,200 or less in 1996;

* If you were 60 or older or blind or disabled on 12/31/96.

Proof of age must be included in the form of a copy (not the original) of one of the following: birth certificate, Benefits Identification Card, hospital birth record, church baptism record, or Social Security award letter that states your date of birth. To establish proof of disability, you must submit one of the following: a statement by a doctor on his or her letterhead (this must be an original, not a copy) or a copy of a Medicare care of Social Security award letter.

Depending on your income, the rebate ranges from $10 to $240 and you must file for it by August 31. If you want a copy of the form, call the State of California at 800.852.5711. (If you've already spoken to me about this year's form, it will be delivered to you next month.)

New Milk Labels

If you concern yourself with knowing all about what you eat and drink, you should know that you'll soon be seeing new milk labels in the store. This is due to dairy industry concern that consumers, concerned about fat content in milk, will simply not buy milk.

By the first of the year, milk will be designated as follows: 1) Fat Free Milk-previously called skim or nonfat milk-has zero fat and 80 calories per cup; 2) Light Milk-previously called 1% lowfat milk-has 2H grams fat and 100 calories per cup (and only 23% of those come from fat); 3) Reduced Fat Milk-previously called 2% lowfat-has 5 grams fat and 120 calories per cup.

Whole milk retains its name (and 3¡4% fat content.) And regardless of fat content, all milk contains the same amounts of nutrients, notably 300 mg calcium per cup.

Incidentally, for those who have difficulty digesting milk, one of our readers suggested that for any recipe calling for milk, scald the milk first before adding it to the other ingredients-you shouldn't have any trouble.

Fran McDonald has been in social services for 26 years and welcomes your calls at 213.664.4772.

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