Help With Rent for Single Parents
Even though we love our children, the financial burden of raising children alone can be almost too much to bear for many single parents. Keeping a safe and healthy home for your children is an essential -- and expensive -- responsibility for parents and it can be quite difficult to achieve in a one-income household. Fortunately, many organizations assist single parents and low-income families with help in paying for rent, bills and other domestic needs.
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Rent Assistance for Families Of Veterans
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Numerous government, corporate and privately run foundations sponsor financial assistance programs for families of lost veterans. Single parents who are the surviving spouse of a U.S. veteran are typically eligible to qualify for assistance to help pay their rent or mortgage. The USA Cares foundation's housing assistance program provides military families in crisis with grants to help prevent evictions and foreclosures. The Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society offers single military parents benefits to help pay rent and utilities, buy food and afford other domestic essentials. Single parents who are veterans, civilian victims of terrorism, or the surviving spouse of either can qualify to receive financial assistance for rent, utilities and food from Operation Family Fund.
Private Charities and Samaritan Programs
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Countless rental assistance opportunities are offered to hardship cases by local churches, charities and "good Samaritan" organizations. Private clubs such as the Knights of Columbus and Kiwanis organize hundreds of fundraisers each year to support their many financial assistance programs, some of which include cash grants and rent assistance for single parents. You can also contact your local Red Cross or Salvation Army office to speak with an intake counselor. One of the prime goals of such organizations is to prevent homelessness and provide for the essential needs of low-income children. Low-income single parents also often gain access to free public food pantries.
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State-Funded Emergency Rental Assistance
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No matter where in the U.S. you live, if you are a low-income single parent you'll find several options of state-funded rent assistance. If you are a single parent living in Florida with children under the age of 18, you can apply once a year to the Florida Department of Children & Families Office on Homelessness' Emergency Financial Assistance for Housing Program. Single moms and dads of Long Beach, Calif., may qualify for six to 18 months of financial rent assistance from the Rapid Rehousing or Beyond Shelter programs that focus on preventing eviction and homelessness. Every state in the nation provides similar programs to assist low-income single parents in affording the costs of rent and domestic living expenses.
Section 8 Housing and Rental Assistance
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Single parents who are stricken by poverty can often qualify for Section 8 housing through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). To qualify for Section 8 housing your landlord must submit a written agreement to the arrangement, and your apartment or rental unit is subject to a complete property inspection performed by local city or state officials. If approved, you will be entitled to a significant amount of subsidies that will applied toward your rent payments. Single parents can also take advantage of other rent assistance programs offered by HUD, such as professional debt counseling and homebuyer grants.
TANF Government Assistance
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Sometimes obtaining rental assistance can be a time-consuming task. In some cases, waiting for an application to be approved for financial assistance can take days or even weeks. If you are a single parent in a desperate state of emergency, your local Department of Health and Human Services (DHS) can offer more immediate help. Though DHS does not directly provide rental assistance, it can direct you to resources that can help. In the meanwhile, qualified applicants can obtain other benefits through the Department of Health and Human Services such as TANF -- Temporary Assistance to Needy Families. TANF benefits may often include immediate access to food stamps, cash grants and medical assistance.
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References
Resources
- Bay Area Medical Information: Housing Assistance
- "The New York Times": The Neediest Cases; Help With Overdue Rent; Jan. 3, 2002
- NHCO: Utility Help and Emergency Financial Assistance
- Operation Family Fund: About Us
- USA Cares: Preventing Foreclosures and Evictions
- Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society: Survivor Benefits; April 12, 2010
- Photo Credit apartment for rent image by dead_account from Fotolia.com
