Please Help Me..

[terry1156]

Since it seems that I have erred, let me be the first to apologize. Not sure if you have a freecycle in your area, but that would be one place to start if you did. CraigsList would be another.

The fact is that you aren't bringing in enough money for your needs, so you need to figure out a way to address that issue. I'm not saying it will be easy, but there are ways. Having access to a computer gives you a lot of opportunities to earn small amounts of money. The freebie section usually has some decent items that you can get for free that may help here.

[Homebody]

Was your husband working "under the table"? If he was hurt while working a "real" job, wasn't he covered by workman's comp? If so he should be getting disability.

Does Kentucky not have some of Aid to Families with Dependent Children? Get yourself down to the local Welfare Office.

[questions]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. Keep trying to get the government benefits. Sounds like if anyone should get them, it should be your family.

In the meantime, there's a great organization for some short term help.

Home - Modest Needs®

You can apply for a onetime grant to hopefully get you through this crisis until benefits begin.

For others reading this, I encourage you to take a look at the site and consider contributing. They are able to help folks through the generosity of others, even though their average contribution is in the $20 range. I think it's especially helpful to people like the OP who live in remote areas with few resources like food pantries and clothes closets.

If you need prescription assistance, try contacting pharmaceutical companies directly.

Have you asked your child's school for assistance? The school I used to work at frequently had clothing available, as well as occasional assistance with food and school supplies. The help was offered discreetly by the principal and guidance counselor. They were also aware of other community resources. Is you child eating free breakfast and lunch at school?

Have you contacted your utility companies for assistance? Most areas, even rural, impoverished ones, receive weatherization and heating funding to distribute to the needy. As hot as it is, winter will be here before you know it. Now is the time to think about getting your home as weatherproof as possible. There should be assistance for doing so, as well as applying (or at least finding out where to apply) for several hundred dollars towards your winter heat bill.

Do you belong to a church? If so, does your church family know of your needs? How about your extended family? Can they provide help such as meals? Transportation? Clothing?

Let us know how you are doing!

[DebbieL]

Is there an Angel Food Ministries near where you live. We don't have them here in Canada (unfortunately), but I've heard wonderful things. For $25 you get a huge box of food. Anybody can order. Check them out online and see if there is a pick-up center anywhere near you. Good luck.

[minnie1928]

Is there an Angel Food Ministries near where you live. We don't have them here in Canada (unfortunately), but I've heard wonderful things. For $25 you get a huge box of food. Anybody can order. Check them out online and see if there is a pick-up center anywhere near you. Good luck.

I did this for the first time on Saturday and was amazed at the amount of food they give you for $25. Mine takes food stamps.

Do you have a cvs near you? If so, you can get a lot of things there for free/virtually free if you work their Extra Care Bucks system with coupons. I've been keeping track, so far this year I've gotten about $840 in stuff this year and I've only paid $200. I know other people haved turned this into a home business...raid CVS for the deals and then sell the stuff (garage sale, ebay, etc).

Also, around here Rite Aid publishes a transfer prescription coupon every week. If you transfer a prescription to Rite Aid they give you a $20 gift card. The cool thing about these coupons is that you don't necessarily have to go to Rite Aid to use them. I've taken the coupon to CVS and Target and they've both given me a $20 giftcard for the prescription transfer.

Check out Hot Coupon World - Powered by vBulletin. I just discovered this site in the past week or so. They have a CVS forum where you can see how people are getting the best deals. They also have a rebate forum. There's also a freebie forum on Online Coupons | Cash Back where you can get freebies mailed to the house (I've got tons of deodorant, laundry detergent, cleaning stuff).

Good luck to you and your family!

[Centsmatters]

Oh geez, I'm so sorry Justmyluck. I wish I could help you. Instead, you have helped me. You reminded me, that no matter how bad things are, others are in worse shape. I have many of the problems you do but not to that extent.
My advice is, do everything you can to keep your internet. I lost mine for a while and the boredom was almost unbearable. I'm completely alone almost 16 hrs a day. Now I am trying to make a little money doing online surveys. If nothing else, it will pay for my internet and I'm not doing anything else anyway. Best of luck to you. You'll be in my prayers.

[poundwise]

You said that you called and e-mailed local churches. Are you a member of a church? If so, won't they help you?

Though I feel for you in your situation, I think you need to strive to make sure you are in charge your mindset. Bad things happens to all kinds of people. Some become woe-is-me or theres-no-way-out defeatists and others seek solutions and take care of things to the best of their ability. I'm not suggesting that I know which you are, I am only suggesting that you need to decide for yourself which you are and think and act accordingly.

I would further suggest that even though you are in a small county, etc. I would expect that there is, somewhere within range of you, a church with a food pantry, donated clothing, etc. If so, you should make the effort to get help. And just remember, most government services are not easy to get. If you find a door closed or get a "no" don't stop trying.

Best wishes to you and yours.

[mom-from-missouri]

Can you apply for section 8 housing? or Hud housing? If you qualify, they will pay a portion of your rent for you.

[LuckyRobin]

Do you have a WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program in your state? In my state they offer vouchers for nutritional food items for women and children far less needy than you appear to be. Do you have a food bank in your community? Our county offers one time $500 grants through a program called Lend-A-Hand. You may have something similar.

What about extended family? Is there anyone you can ask for help? Parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, close family friends? Someone you can move in with until you can get on your feet again? Can you take in a boarder to generate some income?