Advice

[WiccanSpirit]

Hi everyone, this question has been bouncing around my head since the day i signed up here. I am not sure if i asked already. But do any of you have advice for someone living on Social Assistance and who has 4 dependants?

[Calypso]

It sounds like a very hard situation, WiccanSpirit. Social assistance just flat doesn't pay enough for one person, let alone five. And most lending agencies won't consider people on assistance because they have almost no options for collecting if they don't get repaid. If you own a house or a car, you may be able to get a loan on that to help out until things ease up a bit. I wish I could offer cheerier advice, but I've never met a financial counselor (at least not an honest one) who didn't acknowledge that surviving on government assistance was extremely difficult.

[aquariancore]

It's hard to exist on pub assist. I know women that waitress in diner's to augment.

[deanac24]

I use to live on social assistance as a single parent and it was extremely difficult. I know that some local churches help with rental help. You can also get a loan on your car title, if you have one.

[mamab]

Bless you, WiccanSpirit. I know it has to be difficult. What are the ages of the dependents? I would think that the school system would have help with school lunches, if the children are school age. Also, not knowing where you live, it makes it difficult. Some states have different agencies. Have you applied for food stamps, if you're in the States? Surely if you're already on some type of public assistance, it would be easy to qualify.

[WiccanSpirit]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mamab

Bless you, WiccanSpirit. I know it has to be difficult. What are the ages of the dependents? I would think that the school system would have help with school lunches, if the children are school age. Also, not knowing where you live, it makes it difficult. Some states have different agencies. Have you applied for food stamps, if you're in the States? Surely if you're already on some type of public assistance, it would be easy to qualify.

Hello again all, and hello Mamab, thank you. The school doesn't help out with stuff like that. My daughter is 10 years, my middle son is 7 years and my youngest son is 5 years. Unfortunately i can't get a loan because of the fact i am on Social Assistance. And i don't have a car so i can't use that either

[gblued]

It has to be awfully tough being on SA with young kids. I would check out churches and also talk to a social worker about your options. As for earning a bit of extra money, have you considered selling things on Craigslist or possibly doing something like tutoring or at home data entry? These are things that you can do without affecting your Social Assistance status.

[SageMother]

Have you asked around the local pagan/Wiccan community for help? I think you might try looking through Witchvox to see if there are groups in your area that might lend a hand. There are alos places for you to place your websites and services so you might list a few things there to draw some extra cash!

[dwalliz]

How about your township and can they help you? And also what about your relatives?

[taiarain]

Well, there are the basics:

If you are pregnant or have a young enough child, check out WIC.
If you have school age children, complete the forms for free/reduced lunch and breakfast. The lunch program is federally funded.
Contact local food banks.
Use the county health care system. Get as much as you can out of it.
Shop thrift stores & rummage sales for clothing/linens/etc.
Contact local faith based groups (churches, etc) for specific assistance. Our tax dollars are going to them because they are supposedly better at assisting the needy. Let them prove it.
Check with your school district for need-based fee waivers. They're not spoken about, but most schools have them.
Check with your school's parent group for assistance in covering school related expenses (supplies, field trips, book fees, etc) that you can't get reduced/covered by the district.
Consider work from home opportunities. Remember to report any additional income to the agency assisting you.
Sell things you can live without on Craigslist.
Sign up with your local freecycle.
Contact local charities that help out around Thanksgiving/Christmas. Even if you don't celebrate the holidays they'll give for, the food/gifts will probably help a lot.