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HELP PAYING BILLS/RENT/MEDICAL/UTILITIES/FOOD/DIAPERS AND MORE

storm747 started this conversation
Oct 2, 2009
HELP PAYING RENT/MORTGAGE/HEALTH CARE/FOOD?I have found that in today’s economy more and more people are finding it harder to make ends meet. They are either not paying rent and eating or paying rent and not eating. I find this so disturbing living in one of the greatest countries on earth and yet we have a large number of homeless or near homeless people. There are people out there and they are waiting for the Government to give them something, I say to you stop waiting on them and start depending on yourself. I have found in my search many resources and so I thought I would share this with you my brothers and sisters and pray that you can get a hand up not a handout. ANGELS OF GOD, is a non-profit 501©3 organization with a local focus dedicated to helping homeless and low-income families in the Vancouver, WA area. They can be reached at (360) 904-9999 or email angelsofgod.outreach@yahoo.com web address www.angelsofgodoutreach.org.

American Red Cross - Local branches of the American Red Cross provide Americans with help paying electric and heating bills. The Red Cross will also provide other forms of assistance, such as aid to military families, health and safety classes, disaster assistance, and other community services. The services provided by the Red Cross depend on the individual consumer need, and the Red Cross must also always keep extra funds in reserve available for emergencies. The Red Cross receives most of the money it has available to pay out from the United Way.

Community Action Organizations - Local public or non-profit organization that provide numerous types of help and assistance, including help with utility bills, job training, and other services. Community Action Agencies (CAA) were created to help those in need, assist people with bills, and to promote self-sufficiency. A Community Action Agency is a local private and/or public non-profit organizations that is part of the Community Action Program (CAP). This program was founded in 1964 to help provide assistance and fight poverty by empowering the poor in the United States. Currently, there are over 1,000 of these agencies located in all states across the United States. Many work closely with state and local government assistance programs and charities CAA provide many services to struggling families. Community Action Agencies provide numerous programs that offer a wide range of much needed services to low-income people. For example, some local agencies :
  • have created interest-free loans for people who need small loans for home repairs, paying rent, or other needs
  • help with utility and heating bills
  • debt and credit card assistance and counseling
  • offer day care services
  • dental clinics
  • home repairs
  • provide medical care and help with medical bills
  • provide home weatherization to help save energy
  • assist with job training
  • administration of Head Start pre-school programs
  • provide food aid and operate food pantries
  • clothing
  • community action organizations  can provide rent assistance
Gradient Gives Back Community Outreach Program - This is a new charity type program that families need to apply for. Families selected will receive both financial assistance and a financial makeover from resources provided by Gradient. They partner with various professionals, third-party affiliates, and they offer a highly skilled financial team.Some of the financial assistance provided by Gradient Financial Group includes :
  • They will provide funds for up to six months of mortgage and/or rent payments.
  • They can help you find available state and federal government funds and grants.
  • Assist with paying utility bills, deal with car loan companies, and provide resources to help with other applicable debt
  • Help you find and procure charitable contributions and donations from numerous programs that are available.
If you are a family selected, you will receive assistance in several areas, and more details include. First, the financial professionals that work with Gradient will help out with the family’s current financial situation by providing each selected family with up to to six mortgage or lease payments paid and the assistance with utility companies. However, they will also help the family plan for their future, put together a budget to keep them out of financial difficulty, and work with them on long term solutions.

Some other benefits include in addition, this program will allow for both the review and analysis of past tax income and other returns. They will review 2009 and help with 2010 tax returns.

From this point, families will undergo comprehensive budgeting, financial planning analysis and also career counseling and coaching. Some of the budgeting aid provided includes a review of your income, expenses, interest rates and all your debt, including credit card and medical.
 Operation Round Up - Operation Round Up is an assistance program that is offered by utility and gas companies in many states. This organization and the aid they will give provides energy assistance funds to families and individuals in need of help. In addition, the program will offer additional aid, such as help for paying medical bills, rent or housing costs, and more. Select your state to learn if Operation Round Up is available.United Way - Numerous utility companies across the country offer support and assistance to Americans to help them pay their electric bills. The utility companies will sometimes out source the administration of the program to the United Way. Please contact you local United Way office to see if they are aware of any assistance or support provided by your utility provider. A search box is at the bottom of this page.Ways to Work Foundation - This organization helps families and individuals who can't secure loan funding or cash grants at traditional lending institutions. Funds provided can be used to pay for items such as unexpected bills, fix transportation issues and purchase prescription drugs.Research Your State’s Rental Assistance Programs: Call your state’s Department of Human Resources for more details. Some states, like Massachusetts, Texas and Florida, have their own rental assistance programs that help people in need. You will have to meet certain income and family size requirements.HUD Rental Assistance: The HUD (Housing and Urban Development) program is normally associated with homeowners, but it can provide help for renters as well. Almost 1.5 million families use the program to help pay their rent. There is also a Rental Voucher Program to help people pay a portion of their rent. The program pays the landlord the difference between 30 percent of the family’s total household income and the determined payment standard. You’ll have to pay a portion but it will never be more than you can afford.Rural Living: If you live in a rural area, the USDA rural development program can offer help. They provide rental assistance to rural families, low-income families and those with disabilities.Community Resources: The state department of human resources can connect you with community resources in your area that can help you make your rent payments. You may also be able to get the name of local organizations that can help you pay rent until you get back on your feet.With community agencies, you’ll probably need to follow an application process and wait for a response. In tough economic times, these agencies are probably in high demand. If you can’t wait that long to receive help, you can also try to reach out to the religious agencies in your neighborhood for assistance. If you belong to a church, you may want to contact them to see if they can provide any assistance. Grants: Government and private institution rental assistance grants are also available for those who can’t make ends meet. You can find these grants by searching online or contacting your state’s assistance department. Many independent charities offer grants as well.Contact your landlord first if you anticipate ongoing financial hardship. Be honest. They may be willing to lower your rent temporarily or develop some type of payment plan.Gather information on your current income and call the Department of Human Resources in your state. Ask if there are any rental assistance programs available where you live based on your income.

Health Care

  • The Access Project - The Access Project was created to improve health care, strengthen community action, and help promote social change, especially for those who are struggling and in need of assistance. Among other services they offer a Medical Debt Resolution Program that may be able to help you with paying medical bills and debt. They can provide you with proven strategies and information to help advocate with insurers, medical providers, and public assistance programs to reduce and ideally resolve your medical debt.
     
  • American Veterans Relief Foundation - Aid military veterans and their family members when they are burdened with mounting medical bills and debts.
     
  • Catholic Charities - They will offer medical bill assistance to those in need of help with health care bills throughout the United States. This charitable organization works closely with the Providence Healthcare Network to provide assistance and services.
     
  • Children’s Health Fund (CHF) - This charity is committed to providing free health care to America’s most medically under served children as well as their families. It will provide medical care, help with medical costs, and essential services to children and families in need of aid, regardless of their ability to pay.
     
  • Free Prescription Medications - There are several programs that offer discounted and free prescription medications. They include Dispensary of Hope, Together RX Access, NeedyMeds, and Patient Advocate Foundation.
     
  • Free Diapers For Kids - The Diaper Bank (TDB) is a recently formed charity that provides and distributes free diapers to lower income families through existing service providers, including daycare centers, soup kitchens, food pantries, social service agencies, shelters and more. They provide free diapers through its extensive Diaper Distribution Network (DDN) of dozens of agencies and charities.
     
  • Free Medical Camps - This charity organization doesn't assist with paying past medical bills, but the organization does provide new and continuing health care for those who meet the income guidelines of this program.
     
  • HealthWell Foundation - This is a charitable assistance organization that helps people pay for  prescription medications. This group provides financial assistance and grants to help patients to pay for various out-of-pocket health care expenses including health insurance premiums, prescription drugs, and a wide variety of other costs.
 
  • Medi-Corp Health System - This group provides and assists with charity care, payment scheduling and they can also negotiate and provide medical bill discounts for those in need of assistance with paying medical bills. If you plan on receiving care from this charitable program, you need to get approval in advance of your medical treatment. In addition, Medi-Corp also offers a discount program that enables lower bills for the both the underinsured and uninsured. Medical bill discounts are provided on a sliding scale, and those discounts will typically cover between 20 to 60 percent of the health care costs.
     
  • Mission of Mercy, Inc. - Offers free healthcare, including prescription medications, dental care, x-rays and lab tests, to both the uninsured and under insured using volunteer healthcare professionals that operate from a mobile medical clinic.
     
  • Modest Needs - A charitable organization that helps with securing a variety of medical bill assistance. Grant and funds provided can be used to aid qualifying individuals include self-sufficiency grants, independent living grants, back to work funding and more.
     
  • Patient Advocate Foundation - This is a national non-profit charity organization that seeks to help safeguard and protect patients through effective mediation and assuring access to health care, help with medical bills, preservation of patient financial stability, and maintenance of employment in regards to their diagnosis of debilitating or life threatening diseases.
     
  • Shepherd's Hope, Inc. - Free medical care is provided for lower income, uninsured families using
    an all-volunteer healthcare staff and services.
     
  • Smiles Across America, Inc. - This organization provides preventive dental care to uninsured and lower income children in school-based settings. Some of the dental services provided include cleaning, education, sealants and fluoride treatments.
     
  • UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation - The UHCCF organization provides medical cash grants of up to $5,000 to children's families to help families in need pay for non-covered medical services, bills and expenses from their commercial health benefit plan.
     
  • Find additional ways to save on medical bills and get help with medical debt, including free health care from hospitals, assistance from drug companies, medical billing advocates, and many others.
     
  • Top Rated Charities to Help With Medical Expenses and Bills
    Below are the top rated charities that may be able to help with paying for specific medical conditions and expenses. Obviously contact the charity that may apply to your condition. For example, if you have arthritis needs, contact the “Arthritis Foundation”.
    • American Brain Tumor Association
    • American Kidney Fund
    • American Liver Foundation
    • American Lung Association
    • American Parkinson Disease Association
    • Arthritis Foundation
    • Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America
    • Cystic Fibrosis Foundation
    • Diabetes Research Institute Foundation
    • Epilepsy Foundation & Research Foundation
    • First Candle/SIDS Alliance
    • Huntington's Disease Society of America
    • Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
    • Lupus Foundation of America
    • Lupus Research Institute
    • Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
    • Muscular Dystrophy Association
    • National Hemophilia Foundation N.O.
    • National Jewish Health
    • National Kidney Foundation
    • National Organization for Rare Disorders
    • Parkinson's Disease Foundation
  
Click here to add your comment...
chulita
1 hr ago
God bless iv been applying for help about 2Years on the net and calling and calling i hve no transportation.im sufferen with heart disease liver and kidneys and is getting worse im only qualify for food stamps .and every day is a challeng i also have painful stomach ulcers migrains do to a domestic violience trama and sooo on i wnt to the er 2weeks ago with high fever 104 and a server rash that its on my head and all over very painful the meds they gave me made it worse please help me im fallen into depression and want die my email gilo777chula@gmail.com. gbu Im also strgglen with financial may god touch you heart.
reply to chulita
ahawava
May 21, 2013
Low income, USAF disabled veteran, seeking assistance to get a vehicle for transportation of pregnant daughter. Also needs a tractor to manage five acres. The tractor will be used to clear the land, grow crops and prevent fires. If you can help me and my family, please call me at (619)766-9237. Thank you for your time and consideration.
reply to ahawava
angel2000   in reply to bjctech
Apr 29, 2013
I can say from experience i have a son i went to DFACS in need of help with utilities and a place to stay they always say call, I couldn't get help cause i didn't have a income but i do get food stamps, why worry about how i will pay the next month i can't come back there, and why food if no place to cook it.
reply to angel2000
ToGiveIsToGet
Apr 23, 2013
https://www.modestneeds.o...
reply to ToGiveIsToGet
vickie1231   in reply to bjctech
Apr 9, 2013
They are trying to help the children. They are the helpless ones. Children depend on the adult. You are right don't judge someone till you walk in their shoes.
reply to vickie1231
bjctech   in reply to BaddCatt
Apr 9, 2013
You are right, a man should be able to take care of of him self and his family.
But not everbody is the same, which some men can make his life work, and some men can't. I never look at a homeless man and say, he could do better, I have not walk in his shoes-so I don't know. Of cause there are some men who don't want to work or anything else, but there are some women who are the same. What I don't like about asking for help to pay medical or money or food stamps, is they only will help women who has children. What about the women who don't have any kids-she can't get sick-or get food-or get houseing.?
reply to bjctech
BaddCatt   in reply to ntheboonies
Apr 8, 2013
There is, of course, much more aid available to women OR men who have children. And that's how it should be (for the sake of the children). A man should not be whining about aid that women get. He shouldn't even be asking for handouts. He should be a man and go accept whatever nasty, grueling, back-breaking job he can get, and work for his rewards. If he were old and disabled, it would be a different story.
reply to BaddCatt
ntheboonies   in reply to frankp
Apr 8, 2013
that statement you made about if you was a female w/or without kids is sooooo wrong. I am a single female with no kids and damn if i can find any help anywhere....so make sure your facts are correct before you really tick some people off. You are not that ONLY one getting denied or ignored.
reply to ntheboonies
Mr-K   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
It's not an opinion, my friend, It's the law.
reply to Mr-K
Mr-K   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
Conspiracy to commit fraud is against the law also the last time that I checked.
reply to Mr-K
nativekentuckian   in reply to Mr-K
Mar 28, 2013
Well...your opinion does not amount to a hill of beans.....I was not advising anyone to commit welfare fraud....only offering a suggestion to help someone get food for their kids.....if you don't like it....stick your opinion where the sun doesn't shine....
reply to nativekentuckian
Mr-K   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
Of course you libertarians are working on that also though, right?
reply to Mr-K
Mr-K   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
I did. The last time I checked it was still a free country.
reply to Mr-K
nativekentuckian   in reply to Mr-K
Mar 28, 2013
Who invited you into the conversation?
reply to nativekentuckian
Mr-K   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
I think that's called fraud.

What is Public Assistance and/or Food Stamp fraud?

Public Assistance or Food Stamp fraud is the intentional misrepresentation, concealment or withholding of information in order to get any, or increased, public assistance or food stamp benefits. If you intentionally sign any papers (such as an application for benefits, a questionnaire, or recertification papers) in which the information in the papers is not true, you have committed fraud. This is true even if you never end up receiving any public assistance or food stamps at all.

Is fraud a serious matter?

It can be. DSS can disqualify you, make you pay the money back, or criminally prosecute you if they suspect welfare fraud.

Will there be an investigation?

The Department of Social Services'Special Investigation Division (SID) will investigate and may talk to your neighbors, your landlord, your employer or others. An investigator could ask you to sign a paper giving up your right to remain silent and to have an attorney present. If you sign the paper, the investigator will ask you questions. If you do not sign, the interview will end. If you are receiving public assistance or food stamps and you do not go to a SID appointment, your benefits could be discontinued.

What can DSS do if they suspect that I committed fraud?

The Department of Social Services (DSS) can either have you criminally prosecuted and/or can schedule you for an Administrative Disqualification Hearing (ADH).

In most cases, DSS will refer your case to the District Attorney . If the District Attorney does prosecute you, you could face criminal penalties such as fines and/or jail time or discontinuance of your benefits. If you are prosecuted in court, you have the right to have the court appoint an attorney for you if you cannot afford one. Make sure and ask the court for an attorney at the beginning of your case.

If the DA does not take your case, then DSS will schedule you for a disqualification hearing to determine if you have committed an Intentional Program Violation (IPV). This hearing does not stop the state or federal government from prosecuting you criminally in the future so be careful what you say at the hearing.
reply to Mr-K
nativekentuckian   in reply to SEColorado
Mar 28, 2013
I guess the next step is to ask them just how much your income throws you over the line.....then tell your employer to cut you back accordingly(temporarily)...then after you get your pay statement, go back and re-apply and tell them your hours have been cut back.....You will get foodstamps...at the minimum...wish I could be more help...
reply to nativekentuckian
SEColorado   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
We make to much money. That's exactly what they said. Poverty or not. It's gonna be bills rent or food. But never at the same time. That's what I'm saying. Even on behalf of the kids. (Minors) we still make too much. It's shit, but it is what it is
reply to SEColorado
nativekentuckian   in reply to SEColorado
Mar 28, 2013
Since your roommate has two children....your roommate should apply for help on behalf of the children...if the children are minors....
reply to nativekentuckian
SEColorado   in reply to nativekentuckian
Mar 28, 2013
Even the catholic charities refuse to help. I've tried a few. Their is no assistance for single males.
reply to SEColorado
SEColorado
Mar 28, 2013
I'm a single white mail. I have a room mate who works and has two children. We both work and still it's either rent or food. After filling out assistance applications they determined that we still make too much money. Their is no such thing as assistance for a single male with no kids, even though I help raise and support them. The water is turned off and padlocked, the gas is behind, the electric is behind. We're about to lose the house and neither of us have family. I have never asked for help, I am now. Can somebody please, please help us?
reply to SEColorado