New Rochelle residents can get help looking for a job, obtaining social services or preparing their taxes with services available at the New Rochelle Public Library ^[1].

The tax preparation is offered with trained AARP volunteer counselors. It is available through Tax Counseling for the Elderly program and VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance.

Other services offered include computer training, one-on-one meetings with job readinessmore-> coaches, GED preparation, senior benefits assistance, foreclosure prevention and credit counseling.

Here are the announcements from the library, including schedules of when the various services are available. First the tax assistance notice:

AARP OFFERS FREE TAX COUNSELING AT LIBRARY

Free tax assistance through TCE, the Tax Counseling for the Elderly program and VITA, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance, will be offered at the New Rochelle Public Library beginning Tuesday, February 5^th.  Trained AARP volunteer counselors will be available every Tuesday and Thursday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 pm, through April 11^th, 2013.   These sessions will be held in the Community Gallery on the first floor of the Library.  Tax filers are advised to arrive early, as they will meet with a tax advisor on a first-come, first-served basis. The library opens at 9:00 am on these days.

The TCE tax assistance program is free. Interested persons are advised to bring copies of their 2012 tax returns and whatever other tax related materials are needed to complete their returns; the counselors will have the necessary forms to complete the e-filing.

For patrons who just need tax forms, the IRS will be shipping forms to the library by January 31^st.

A full selection of forms for federal and state returns will then be available on the third floor of the Library.  In order to maintain the supply through the tax season, patrons are asked to take no more than two copies of any form.  Reproducible forms are also available to be photocopied.

 

And the notice on employment and social services:

 

                  LIBRARY CONTINUES TO OFFER FREE JOB READINESS

AND SOCIAL SERVICES ASSISTANCE

          The wide range of free services to help residents prepare for employment, and connect with social services assistance, continues to be provided at the New Rochelle Public Library (NRPL) this winter and spring.  Computer training, one-on-one assistance with a job readiness coach, GED test preparation, and additional targeted services continue to help residents of all ages and career levels each day, Monday – Saturday, through the library’s grant-funded Public Computer Center (PCC), as well as dedicated staff members and trained volunteers. – These resources include:

• One-on-one assistance job readiness sessions with a trained coach/advisor are provided on a drop-in basis, Thursdays, 5:00 – 7:45 pm and Saturdays, 1:00 – 4:00 pm, in the 2nd floor Help Center.


• GED Preparation with trained volunteers helps participants with understanding what’s on the test and one-on-one help with the test components such as math and writing, Tuesdays, 5:00 pm – 7:30 pm, and Saturdays, 10:00 am – 12:30 pm, in the 2^nd floor Help Center, on a drop-in basis.


• One-on-one assistance with completing e-forms for employment, food stamps and other benefits, immigration papers and other on-line services is provided by trained AmeriCorps workers. Several sessions are offered each week. A schedule is available at the second floor reference desk.

• Senior benefits assistance with trained volunteers help senior citizens find out which benefits they may be entitled to receive, including Medicare health and prescription, food stamps, HEAP, EPIC, weatherization, minor home repair, tax relief programs and others, is offered Fridays, 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, on a drop-in basis in the 2^nd floor BTOP Help Center.

•  Free Foreclosure Prevention and Credit Counseling with trained counselors from Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) includes free assistance with loan modifications, forbearance agreements, reverse mortgage housing counseling, mortgage default and delinquency counseling, and credit counseling on the second Thursday of each month, from 1:00 pm – 4:00 pm in the 2^nd Floor HELP Center.

In addition the library now has expanded computer stations, including some with equipment designed for patrons with physical challenges.  A full listing of the library’s extensive computer training classes is available in the library’s lobby and on its website: www.nrpl.org ^[2].

NRPL’s PCC has assisted several thousand people since opening in December 2010.  NRPL was one of 35 libraries to receive a two-year grant from the New York State Library, a unit of the Office of Cultural Education within the New York State Education Department (NYSED), which was awarded $9.5 million in a grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) to expand computer access in public libraries across New York State.  The funding is being provided through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA) Broadband Technology Opportunities Program (BTOP).