IN McKeesport Spring 2016 | Page 35

T State Sen. Jim R. Brewster urges individuals to see if they are eligible for the PA Lottery-funded Property Tax and Rent Rebate Program. All homeowners and renters who received rebates in 2015 should receive their booklets in the early spring of 2016. Sen. Brewster’s staff is available to help complete the applications and process the forms. The staff also can clear bureaucratic hurdles and help determine the status of an application. For the 2014 tax year, more than 564,000 in property tax and rent rebates worth $269 million were sent to qualifying Pennsylvanians. The rebate program benefits eligible Pennsylvanians age 65 and older, widows and widowers age 50 and older, and people with disabilities age 18 and older. The income limit is $35,000 a year for homeowners and $15,000 a year for renters. Only half of Social Security is included in total yearly income. “My staff is available to help with the Property Tax and Rent Rebate application process,” Brewster said. “I encourage any person who thinks they may be eligible for this beneficial program to contact my office and talk with a member of my staff.” The rebate filing deadline for Property Tax/Rent Rebate applications is June 30. Applications are available online at www.revenue.state.pa.us and at any of Senator Brewster’s district offices. Brewster’s offices can be reached by phone: McKeesport, 412-664-5200; Monroeville, 412-380-2242; New Kensington, 724-334-1143. Residents can find more information at www.senatorbrewster.com. he Pittsburgh-based Community Empowerment Association has brought its Workforce Development and Training Initiative to the Mon Valley, where local officials recognize the need for employment opportunities as well as youth programming. With this successful neighborhood training program jumpstarting career opportunities for young adults in Pittsburgh, Community Empowerment Association president and CEO Rashad Byrdsong said the Mon Valley is ready for what the Workforce Development and Training Initiative can offer. “We all know the Mon Valley is in a phase of revitalization,” Byrdsong said. “The loss of manufacturing from our steel mills left a lot of neighborhoods vacant of opportunity. With a new resurgence of business and technology, along with neighborhood-focused community development, we need to put young people on a developmental track for job placement, training and post-secondary education.” In communities where many youth find themselves struggling with crime and violence, which Byrdsong said is roote [