Unemployed Pennsylvanians can now access resources and information about long-term unemployment at PennsylvaniaUnemployed.org, a new website developed by the Philadelphia Unemployment Project and Community Legal Services.

Philadelphia Unemployment Project (PUP) and Community Legal Services (CLS), two community based nonprofit organizations that advocate on behalf of low-income workers in Pennsylvania, created the website in response to the growing number of Pennsylvanians who have exhausted their unemployment benefits – more than 51,000 by September 1, 2010.

In Pennsylvania, people who lose their jobs can receive up to 99 weeks of unemployment benefits while they look for work. PennsylvaniaUnemployed.org aims to give people who have exhausted their 99 weeks of unemployment benefits and all unemployed Pennsylvanians a comprehensive guide to local and national unemployment resources while they search for a new job.

On PennsylvaniaUnemployed.org, people facing unemployment can learn about other benefits that are available such as food stamps, mortgage assistance, cash assistance and Medicaid, as well as how to apply for them, and how to connect with resources that are available in their communities. The website also has a form for people to share their unemployment stories, which may be used by PUP and CLS to help advocate for the long-term unemployed.

The PA Department of Labor estimates nearly 150,000 Pennsylvanians will have exhausted their UC
benefits by the end of 2010. Many of the long-term unemployed are hard-working people who are struggling to find jobs in the recession and have few places to turn for help.

PennsylvaniaUnemployed.org provides these hard-working people with the information they need.