Financial Assistance During Hard Times

Guest post by Sarah Palmer of www.SingleMothersFinancialHelp.com. You can check out her articles here for information on housing, grants and other forms of financial assistance for single mothers.

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Are your debts adding up? Do you find yourself struggling to pay your bills?

Did you know that you may be eligible to get financial assistance from either the Government or private organizations? Depending on what area you needed help with, certain Government departments and organizations are able to help you.

Housing Assistance Programs

If you are having trouble paying your mortgage repayments or covering your rent, you can apply for some form of housing help. Below are some common places you can find some form of housing assistance:

1. 1.     HUD (Housing and Urban Development)                 

This is the Governments major program which helps out millions of low income families who are in need of housing assistance. The HUD provides many different ways for such people in need to get clean and safe housing.

If you are needing rental assistance, the HUD has affordable apartments for low-income families. They also have the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8 Housing), where you find your own place to live and use the voucher to pay for all or part of the rent.

If you are looking for help purchasing a home, the HUD also works with lenders to get loans for people who would not normally qualify for a mortgage. This guarantee makes it possible for the lender to loan to someone who is considered a poor risk, because the government will pay a portion of the loan if the borrower defaults.

1. 2.     CoAbode

This organization has the ‘Mom-matching’ program. This program matches single mothers up with other single mothers who want to share accommodation, raise their children together and also save money through shared living expenses.

1. 3.     Habitat for Humanity

Habitat for Humanity is another fantastic organization. They help build homes through volunteer labour and cash donations for people who are in need. They also lend no-profit, no-interest mortgage loans to some families.

 

Financial Assistance

Occasionally everyday life doesn’t always go according to plan and people need some of help along the way. Some families need help just to make ends meet – money for paying bills, or putting food on the table. Below are some organizations which can help with that:

1. TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)

Formally known as welfare, TANF helps out millions of people in financial need through cash payments. The best part about this form of help is that you aren’t restricted to how you spend the money and so any money you receive can be used towards anywhere you need it most. Eligibility is primarily based on a person’s income, children at home and various other factors. So best to do your research before you apply. It is worth noting you’re only entitled to this form of assistance for a maximum of 5 years. This is because welfare is meant to help families on a temporary basis, instead of them getting reliant upon these kinds of payments.

1. 2.     Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)

Formally known as food stamps, SNAP is a great government initiative helping out millions of people put healthy food on the table. The SNAP program focuses on providing healthy food for people who would otherwise not have been able to afford it.

If you are eligible for this program, you will receive an EBT card, similar to a credit card, to be used at the checkout of grocery stores. Credits will be added to your card, so that when you purchase select items, they will be ‘paid for’ through the SNAP credits. Unhealthy items, such as alcoholic beverages, cigarettes, foods hot at the point of sale, cannot be purchased with this card. Non-food items, vitamins or medicines and pet foods also cannot be used with this card.

1. 3.     WIC (Women, Infants and Children)

WIC is another organization that helps low income families place healthy food on their tables. Just like SNAP, WIC give vouchers which can be used to gain access to food items that families would’ve otherwise had to purchase.

So, these are just some of the places you can get help if you need it. The important thing to note is that help is out there, you just need to know where and how to find it.

If you would like more information on any of these topics or about grants for single mothers, be sure to check out this site: www.singlemothersfinancialhelp.com/