Rent Due Soon? Financial Assistance May Still Be Available - Act Before It's Gone!

Intro rent prices just keep climbing and for many families making those payments is a source of constant stress there are resources out there to help but finding them can be overwhelming today I'm sharing where to look for help making your rent when you can't afford it whether you're facing an immediate crisis or you just want to be prepared this video will guide you to the right resources now as we dive into these Remember This programs please remember funding is limited and not everyone will qualify for each program our goal is to connect you with as many options as possible so you have the best chance of getting help but some programs may run out or have specific eligibility requirements so just be aware of that let's start with Government Programs government programs there aren't really any great federal emergency rental assistance programs right now but you may be able to get assistance from your local government many states require their towns or counties to offer welfare funds for local residents in need these programs are not widely advertised so you usually need to do a little digging to find them depending on where you live this program may be called general assistance emergency assistance temporary assistance Town welfare County welfare Indigent Services emergency aid or something else entirely to find these programs it's usually best to call your city or County Social Services office and ask about it some areas will provide you money as a grant that you never have to pay back While others may require you to sign a reimbursement agreement to repay the money over over time in most cases These funds are legally required to be a payer of Last Resort which means that they will only help you if you have tried everything else first so don't click away from this video just yet because we have a ton of other resources for you and you will need to try those before you turn to your local County Services office so veterans may be able to get additional support from your local veteran service office this is not the VA many counties have a veteran services office or veterans financial assistance office that connect you with local resources when my family needed help with an emergency expense our County Veteran service office contributed $800 toward our cause it was really easy to get that help we just needed my husband's DD214 a little bit of other paperwork and the bill we needed paid so if you are a veteran or have a veteran in your household definitely check with your county and sometimes even your city to see if they have a veteran service office that can help you if you can't find that information easily on your local government website your State's veteran office May be able to help you find your local office as well now Community Local Rent Grant Programs Action councils and similar organizations often have up-to-date information on rent relief programs in your area even though the widespread ER program from the pandemic is closed those organizations that participated in it may still know about additional localized rent relief programs that can help you contact your local Community Action Council or search for similar organizations in your area to see what resources they offer and what resources they know about in your area you can also call 211 as well for additional guidance fortunately there are many options Beyond government programs too a Charities that Pay Rent variety of Charities and organizations like the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities may offer help with rent especially during emergencies I found a lot of resources for rental assistance and many of them have very specific eligibility requirements so for the remainder of this list I'm going to move very quickly you can always get all the details on our website at lowincome relief.com r-r many charity is focus on helping Rent Grants for Disabilities & Medical Conditions people with specific medical conditions if you're struggling financially due to a diagnosis there are some grants that may be able to help you the Glenn garcelon Foundation can provide grants for patients who have a primary brain tumor you can apply for that on the American brain tumor association website Leukemia and Lymphoma Society can pay up to $500 toward rent for eligible patients through their urgent need program the pink fund can provide up to $3,000 towards your rent if you have been diagnosed with breast cancer and are currently in active treatment and meet other requirements now there may be similar Charities for other conditions as well try searching your condition plus rent grant for more options some Rent Grants for Low Income Workers Charities and programs offer rental assistance based on your specific job or industry as well here are a few examples if you work in food service or restaurants and have children at home core that's children of restaurant employees may be able to offer you some help with your rent if you are over the age of 50 and have played music professionally you may be able to get rent relief from pint toop Assistance League for Elder musicians if you have a class A CDL and work as an over the road semi-truck driver you may be able to get help from the St Christopher trucker Relief Fund too now if you worked for at least 5 years in the entertainment industry you may be able to get help with your rent from the entertainment Community Fund which used to be called the actors fund but I think they've expanded their scope a little bit if you want to see if your profession has similar programs you can search your job title Plus rent help to see if you can find more now of course Rent Grants for Military & Veterans there are a ton of resources for military and Veterans as well so if you're struggling to pay your rent you may be able to get rent grants from organizations like Army emergency relief Helping Hands for Freedom the Navy Marine Corp Relief Society operation First Response operation home front's critical financial assistance program The Seer F fund and more we have a full list of those on our website as well now Find Rent Relief Near You there are also a ton of local programs that may be able to assist you with rent but these vary widely by state since I can't cover every single local option definitely go check out our website for details on that but even if I can't list every option in this video I will tell you how to find them anywhere as a general rule you should always check with your local Community Action Council Salvation Army and Catholic Services if you need emergency rent assistance please remember you do not have to be Catholic to get help from Catholic Services I'd also recommend calling 2 one for details on any organizations that may be offering rent relief in your area while the 211 operators are not case workers they are a great starting point they have access to some great resource databases and that's why I still recommend them however I also recommend reaching out to other organizations and checking our list for additional insight and referrals just in case there's something that 211 might have missed now another word of warning Warning for you many people will tell you that you should turn to Section 8 or your local public housing authority for emergency rental assistance however their programs usually take a substantial amount of time with weight lists sometimes lasting for years while it's absolutely worth applying for these programs if you qualify for long-term help they're usually not going to be able to help you if you need to pay your rent this week that being said your local public housing authority might know about other rent relief programs in your area so it might be worth checking in with them as well we've covered a lot of potential resources today but finding them is just the first step let's talk Tips & Tricks talk about how to maximize your chances of getting approved for that assistance first you need to act fast these programs have limited funding and there are often wait lists for the more popular ones you need to apply as soon as you realize you're going to need help second gather all your documents right away you'll usually need ID and proof of income for every adult member of your household as well as proof of identity for any children if you've received an eviction notice you'll need that too and it never hurts to have more documentation than you need so don't worry worry about overpreparing on that note I will never forget when I had to go to my local Community Action Council for help we had 13 people living in our house at the time and the case worker was shocked that I brought all of my paperwork together at my first appointment she confided in me that their team had literally drawn straws to see who would have the bad luck of working with me because they assumed that it would be a nightmare to get all of my paperwork together since I had it all ready to go my appointment was short easy and I got the money I needed right away it pays to be prepared third be persistent don't be discouraged by initial rejections sometimes your application may be denied just because you missed a detail in the paperwork follow up if you don't hear back ask if they know about any other programs that may be able to help you whatever you do don't give up and don't forget to check out our video about hardship grants for more ways that you can get emergency financial assistance I'll see you there