Housing Assistance for Low Income Single Mothers
United States Department of Housing and Urban Development Seal (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Single mothers have a difficult time keeping themselves and their children out of poverty. A recent report from the Census found that over 4 million single mothers in the United States are currently living in poverty. They often have a difficult time paying for decent housing. Fortunately, there are different programs that help single mothers pay for housing.
HUD Assistance
The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recognizes that a lack of affordable housing is one of the biggest problems facing low income people. It is a great resource for people that are having difficulty affording housing in their community. There are several different HUD programs that you may want to look into:
- Subsidized rental properties. HUD helps subsidize some privately owned properties. The incomes verify by county and the number of people in your household. To give you a sense of the income requirements, a single mom with two children in most counties in California would need to make $30,650 a year or less to qualify.
- Public housing. HUD also has some housing programs for low income people that can’t find affordable housing anywhere else.
- Vouchers. HUD also provides housing vouchers that can help pay for rent. These vouchers can be used anywhere the tenant wants.
HUD is one of the largest government programs for helping people find affordable housing. This is one of the first places single mothers should check out.
Local Charities
There are also a number of nonprofit organizations that you may want to check out. The Salvation Army is one of the most popular groups to look at. The Salvation Army is an Evangelical Christian group that provides assistance to many disadvantaged people.
They offer a number of family support services, which includes housing assistance. They are especially helpful to homeless people.
CoAbode is another program that you may want to check out. This service was specifically setup for single mothers. It helps single mothers coshare spaces together to make living more affordable.
Contact Habitat for Humanity
Habitat for Humanity is one of the best charities for single mothers that need housing assistance. This group has helped build houses for many people throughout the world. There are several requirements that you will need to meet if you want Habitat for Humanity to help build a new house:
- The family must not have access to a safe living environment
- The family has found that other housing options would exceed 35% of household income.
- The size of available housing options isn’t sufficient for the family members in the household.
- The applicant does not qualify for traditional financing and has not owned any form of real estate for the past three years.
- The adults in the household must be willing to help another family in need build a house later on.
Habitat for Humanity may be able to help you build a new house. This can give tremendous peace of mind to single mothers that are struggling to make ends meet, especially if they live in a community with a high standard of living.
About the author: Kalen is the editor at Economic Myths and Lies and Money File. He writes about social justice issues and financial solutions for low income people.
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Category: Housing
