Programs That Can Help
If you’ve never applied for benefits before, know that it’s far from an easy process. Depending on the program you’re applying for and your state, you’ll need to provide proof of income for some months, data on all of your family members, bank statements, information about your monthly bills, and potentially information about any assets you may have, like a car or a house.
The next time someone tells you getting benefits is easy, check them on it!
It is worth it, though, if you can get on a program that will help you improve your station. Here are some US programs to look into:
•SNAP. Formerly known as food stamps.
•Cash assistance.
•LIHEAP. This program helps with your heating bill in the winter.
•CAP Programs. These programs—which may be run by an outside agency rather than your state government—help control your electric bill.
•Childcare assistance. Typically this will be on your welfare application, but some states will refer you out to a third-party agency who facilitates the program after you’ve applied.
•Medicaid. Get on insurance. If you’re having trouble because of your individual state’s policies, be sure to look at the CHIP program—which is very low-cost and generally has higher income limits—to get your children covered so they can get the medical care they need.
•Pell and State grants. These are available by filling out the FAFSA form, and will help pay for a large chunk of your schooling.
•Special allowances. Some states offer special allowances for targeted life expenses. For example, Pennsylvania offers a special allowance for college textbooks for qualifying applicants.
•Section 8 Housing. These housing vouchers can help you get a roof over your head.
•Food pantries. Food pantries do not typically ask for proof of income, but their hours do tend to be limited. It’s not like a store where you can just walk in. Some food pantries will even require that you set up an appointment or place your order before coming to pick it up.
•Soup kitchens. These are open to the public.
•Clothes closets. Some closets will help you get the basics, while others will help you put together a professional wardrobe so you can land that job.
•Local nonprofits. Look for nonprofits in your own community. They may offer job placement assistance, financial assistance, discounts on used vehicles, or even advocacy when you go to apply for benefits with your state’s department of public welfare. If you have gaps, these nonprofits are often able to connect you with ways to fill them. Some examples that are generally available nationwide are the United Way, YWCA, and sometimes even Goodwill Industries.
Don’t Forget to Factor in Hard Work
Being on welfare programs is no picnic. There are endless applications to fill out, income limits that seem to vary with every program, and the constant, though unwarranted, shame our society places on the “takers,” as some crude and ignorant politicians describe benefit recipients.
These programs are exhausting, and they remind Rhea of another one of those prejudices that really gets under her skin.
“The one I really hate is when people complain about being tax payers and funding government programs for low-income families,” she says. “Even when I was living below the poverty line, I still legally worked and paid taxes myself, so I didn’t really get that argument. Plus, I know there are some people who are unable to work due to a disability or another hardship, so every situation is different. Low-income households shouldn’t be generalized or judged.”
But since reliance on welfare isn’t a fun place to be, it’s important to endure some growing pains and put in some serious hard work if you are able to do so. (Though as Rhea so rightly points out, not everyone can.)
To be able to pull off this great feat, you’re going to have to dig deep to find your ultimate motivation. For Rhea, that drive came from two places. First, she was angry that she was stuck in this cycle, and she used that anger to fuel her forward motion. In contrast to her anger, she also fiercely loves her son. She wanted a better life for him, and that vision kept her pushing towards a better tomorrow even when things got incredibly difficult.
Jackie Cummings Koski is a sales executive at a global data company in Dayton, Ohio. She was raised by a single father who worked in a factory. He never applied for assistance programs, despite living well below the poverty level while raising six children.
“We would have done better if we were on welfare,” Koski says. “For my dad, it was a sense of pride for some reason.”
Koski worked her way through college, eventually establishing a good career for herself. Putting herself through school was a harrowing process, but she was driven by much the same motivation as Rhea: a better future for her own someday family.
Avoiding Debt
Koski attributes a large portion of her success to not taking on debt. She has never held credit card debt. She didn’t take out any loans in school until her senior year, and even then the amount was minimal—just enough to help her get by.
“Looking back, the habit of not taking on debt or using a credit card to live on? It put me ahead while a lot of my colleagues and friends were paying off student loan debt. My money was going to investing and savings in my 401k.”
Koski didn’t use the Free Application for Financial Student Aid (FAFSA) to get grant money for college, but she does wish more people knew about it so they, too, could avoid student loans. Or even just be encouraged to get the education they need in the first place.
“I work with a lot of women of color in low-income communities,” Koski relates. “They don’t have a lot of money to work with. I share with them that going back to school doesn’t cost a penny financially—it just takes a little bit of time. There are some people that have just kind of given up on the idea of college, but there’s always a way.”
To learn more about going to school for free when you’re low-income, be sure to keep reading as we’ll cover it in Chapter 4.
“Growing up, we knew when grocery day was because the fridge was empty with nothing in it,” recounts Koski. “When you grow up like that, you can do two things. You can repeat what you know or do the opposite. In my head I wanted to do the opposite. It’s fresh in your mind how it was—you never want to go back there and see it again. I wanted to change things for future generations.”
Motivation, education, and hard work were all integral for all of the women I talked to, but Koski pointed out another factor that is fortunately becoming easier to control: your environment.
“We are products of our environment,” she says. “When your
