Churches That Help With Rent and Bills

lifh 32 Comments Personal Finance

Churches throughout the country are there for individuals and families dealing with financial hardship. Churches provide a number of assistance programs including help with paying rent.

In addition to direct help from the church, they often have numerous relationships with other non-profits and government aid agencies that can also help.

This allows volunteers and employees to better help the public and potentially provide them with more than just rent assistance. Below is more detail on how churches can help with rent and other financial situations.

 
Needs of the Many
As the income gap grows between the poor, middle and wealthy classes; it is those on low incomes that suffer the most. As expenses continue to rise, especially in urban centers, the cost of living is simply beyond the capability of many on social assistance or single-family incomes. In order to cope many people are turning to non-profits, government benefits and churches for help.

Support from a Church
Although churches do not always have the same amount of funds available as other publicly funded organizations, they can usually help in the short term and put you in contact with organizations that can better help you.

Churches can often offer rent payment support in the form of first and last month’s rent, one-time payments to cover shortages or even help in the aspect of moving from one place to another. With financial counseling, bill payments for other pressing items like utilities and help to prevent evictions, churches have become social stewards for the low income families that rely on them.

Getting Help
It is important to understand that churches do not have the resources to make multiple or ongoing rental or mortgage payments. There services are more to act as an emergency assistance provider whilst helping you look for solutions that are more permanent.

As churches have become more involved for providing monetary support for larger bases of people, they have also become more adept at insuring they are not the subject of fraudulent claims.

As such you may be required to fill out application forms and provide documentation to your current situation. If you have an eviction notice, a late payment notice or support documentation from your landlord about your rent due, these documents may be needed to support your claim.

Your best option is to approach the churches in your own neighborhood first. Generally those congregations that are part of your community are more apt to accept your application as they can provide direct ministrations to support you. There should be a number of churches in your area, such as a Catholic or Protestant churches, Jewish or Muslim synagogues, do not be discouraged if one cannot help, simply try the next organization until one can help you with your emergency need for rent, utility bills, groceries, financial counseling or other needs.

In many cases, if a church is unable to provide you with rental assistance, they will be able to put you in touch with an organization that can.

 
Below are some of the more popular church assistance programs

- The Catholic Charities Network helps Americans at a local and national level, assisting in more than 2600 locations. Services include disaster relief, shelter, food, financial assistance, education and more.

- St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church has a long history of helping the needy, dating back to 1845 with its establishment in St Louis. Currently, St Vincent helps over 12 million Americans annually. Aid and assistance is through personal intervention, consultations, direct finances or in-kind service.

- The Salvation Army is a global organization that has a huge presence in the US. Over 30 million Americans have received help from the salvos. There are numerous services provided by the Salvation Army including support for adults, disaster relief, housing and homeless services, hunger relief and more.

- Lutheran Services in America is one of the largest healthcare and human services networks in America. They help over 6 million Americans annually through their network of 300 organizations with over 250,000 employees and volunteers. They provide numerous community services and have partnerships with other networks to provide services like bill assistance, help with food, shelter and other important day-to-day living needs.

None of these churches are near me
The above are just some of the larger church organizations that can help with rent, temporary shelter, food, bills and other important living needs. If you are located in an area that does not have one of the above organizations, simply reach out to the church in your immediate area, as they will provide some sort of assistance or be able to put you in touch with some who can help.

Non-religious financial help
In addition to churches, there are numerous other non-profits and government assisted organizations that can help with rent or a mortgage as well as other bills or living necessities.

 
Try reaching out to the following:
Community Action Agencies
Financial counsellors
Charities
 

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