Financial assistance has been denied to a terminally ill woman who applied for it after she was unable to work.

Fifty-eight-year-old Betty Tucker told The Royal Gazette that, although she has less than a year left to live, she cannot get any financial help from Financial Assistance disability or pension.

"For disability payments, you have to be ill and unable to work for at least a year. I stopped working due to my illness last September. I need help now,'' Mrs. Tucker said. "I don't want a handout.'' "For financial assistance you practically have to be eating out of the garbage can to get financial help from them,'' she added. "I think they should evaluate each case on its own merit. I have a mortgage to pay. We may have to sell the house because of this. It is very embarrassing for me. The bills are piling up, the stress is getting higher. There is nothing coming in.'' Mrs. Tucker said her husband was in his 70s and only worked part-time as a security guard twice a week for $7 per hour.

"We have income from a rental property which barely covers the mortgage,'' she said. "I just need day-to-day financial help. You pay the Government taxes, but when you are in crisis they are not there for you.

"We are not asking for rental assistance. Our needs are simple and we have nowhere else to turn.

"I was hospitalised three times and have had to go to LCCA (Lady Cubitt Compassionate Association) to get the money I needed to go overseas for care.

The first time was in September.

"The Somerset Adventist Church gave me the money for the plane ticket.

"The second time was two weeks in October, when I came back from overseas.

"The last time was another two weeks in November at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Once again LCCA gave me the money to make the trip. At this point, I'm ashamed to go back to LCCA and the church. It's so embarrassing to be in this position. They should have some disability funds from the Government to tell how long a person has worked and if the money is really needed.'' But acting director of Financial Assistance, Olga Scott, refuted those claims, saying: "The programme is based primarily on income''.

"What we look for is how much food is required for the household, rent or room and board situation, electricity or gas, basic telephone bill, medical insurance especially HIP insurance, transportation -- the cheapest form being the bus, child care, medication, and laundry.

"Social insurance requires one year before you can pick up benefits. A person can apply for both.'' Kelly Hodsoll, the insurance officer at Social Insurance, sympathised with Mrs. Tucker, saying: "Although we may sympathise with her situation, we cannot alter the law for each individual case. It's sad, but it's what the law says. We are not cold-hearted. We are governed by the law.

"If you are ill or disabled, you must have been employed at the time of your disability. To qualify for benefits, you must have been incapacitated for 12 months. We cannot alter the law for each case.'' Sylvana Hayling, a Social Assistance worker, said: "It is my understanding that the individual must submit more information to be considered eligible.

"To assess an individual's eligibility or ineligibility, we must consider all members of the household. We must ensure that all people are eligible.'' And Mrs. Scott said: "We work within policy guidelines. First we give the applicant the means test. Once we add up all the basic monthly expenses, we then gather the information for it.

"All the required information has not been submitted (for Mrs. Tucker's case).

"We assess a person's monthly assets. If there is any income from wages, income from rentals. Any type of income is assessed to determine eligibility or ineligibility for an applicant.'' HEALTH HTH