Find churches that offer assistance to low income families. They provide help with rent or utility bills or they give out free food, vouchers to pay for motel rooms, clothes, and other items. Some church locations that may be in your community also operate homeless shelters, soup kitchens or serve free hot meals. Find how to get help from a church in your area, near you that is listed below

Faith based groups help anyone in need - whether unemployed, homeless, someone lacks income or money and others. The services offered are wide ranging and depend on church. There may be also money from the church for car repairs, a bus ticket, or volunteers that give someone a ride to a critical appointment..

The exact form of emergency help from churches that may near you will vary based on the location as well as available resources. There is help from LDS, Catholic, Mormon, Baptist, and Christian churches among others. Faith based organizations also tend to help the most vulnerable regardless of their religion, ethnicity or age.

National church groups that provide help in most areas
Financial help from a church
Free items from a church - such as food, clothes and more
Churches have limited resources to help people
Churches listed by area

National churches that help struggling people

There are thousands of local churches that operate as part of larger, national networks. They provide financial assistance when they have the funding. They not only support working poor families that are in the parish, but the locations also try to help strangers or transient people too. A number of social services are administered, depending on the parish.

One of the leading faith based organizations is Catholic Charities. The local churches that are part of this charity will assist qualified individuals regardless of their religion, faith, age, immigration status or culture. Some locations will offer emergency financial assistance and others provide basic needs, such as free clothing, funds to help with paying rent, free furniture or food. The churches also help immigrants or refugees, including undocumented ones. Click Catholic Charity assistance.

The national St. Vincent De Paul partnership of churches and its volunteers may be able to offer emergency assistance as well. There are also numerous faith based groups that work with this charity. They help struggling families, including seniors and the disabled, with paying many types of bills. There are also free or low cost items from a SVDP thrift store. Read more on Saint Vincent de Paul financial assistance programs.

The nation’s largest Christian church group is the Salvation Army. This Christian, faith based organization supports people of all religions, genders and backgrounds. The social services offered are extensive. They range from free emergency food or hardship funds to pay rent or light bills to free Christmas gifts. There is also faith based substance abuse treatment services as well as supportive housing for the elderly.

There are thousands of local Salvation Army centers that are part of this network of Christian churches. Based on location, there may also be vouchers for prescription medications, free medical care from clinics, overnight shelter for the homeless and more. Applicants to the church include immigrants, senior citizens, single mothers, or the disabled among others. Find help from the Salvation Army.

Church ministries, with coverage in most local communities, operate in partnership with Love INC, also known as Love in the Name of Christ. The organization provides social services to the working poor. The Clearinghouse at a local Love affiliate can refer low income families to emergency financial aid programs. There are also emergency shelters, free groceries, rental payment assistance, and more. Ministries from the church also provide basic needs such as free diapers, furniture, or seasonal Christmas celebrations. More on Love INC assistance programs.

Social services are available from United Methodist Church, or UMC. The organization is involved in fighting poverty and offering short term relief to families. Assistance may include hunger prevention programs such as free boxes of groceries or meals. UMC also provides basic needs in many communities such as school supplies, Christmas gifts or free winter jackets for children.

The church also helps families that are close to eviction as well as the homeless. Housing services include free money to pay rent, overnight shelter or grants to help pay energy or electric bills. All of the assistance is provided for free to the working poor. Find other help from the network of United Methodist Churches.

Episcopal Church has a number of poverty fighting programs. The ministries, while coordinated at the national level, have churches in many communities across the county, with possibly one near you. Whether access to health care, hunger prevention programs or affordable housing, find more details on help from an Episcopal Church.

Regardless of faith, Jewish Family Services will provide support in local area. A major focus of this charity organization as well as its local synagogues is to help the elderly and disabled. However other people can get help. They can provide meals on wheels, help address employment issues and give interest free loans or grants to pay bills. Learn more on programs from Jewish Family Services in your area.

While not in every state, National Church Residences provides housing and low-cost apartments to low-income families. Most of the rental units are for senior citizens, single moms, or people with a disability. Some of the housing from this faith based group is free while others is income based, with emergency motel vouchers also provided to seniors. Learn more on National Church Residences and their housing programs.

Lutheran Social Services, or LSC, is a nationwide faith based group that not only helps people that go to Lutheran churches but their social services are for others in need as well. Whether financial help for rent or utilities, or a car repair or clothes or something else, they help people of all ages and backgrounds as indicated here on how to get help from Lutheran Services.

Get financial help from a local church in your area

While the funding to help people pay for housing, electric bills or say a hotel room or car repair is usually very limited, the bottom line is a church near you they can usually provide some form of short term help. They will rarely, if ever, turn anyone away that is truly struggling.

Many churches help with emergency housing needs. They may have funds to contribute today towards paying rent and help prevent evictions. This is in addition to those listed above. Click here for listing of agencies in your town or city, and locate emergency rent assistance programs.

Help with utilities is arranged by a church. A focus will always be on stopping homelessness, and losing power can lead to evictions - homelessness. Churches try to keep people in their home so they are not on the streets or living in a shelter. When they can, many may have a few dollars to help with housing needs, whether it is a light bill or maybe a heating or utility bill for a senior citizens. Find other ways to get electric bill help.

A church will help someone with no money, such as a homeless person or someone facing a financial hardship (unextended loss of job, illness, etc.). They help the person or family find resources for the crisis and support them as they get back on track. Both help for bills, rental or housing costs and other assistance is arranged by a church, such as food as well as clothes. Find assistance when you have zero money.

Churches and benevolence ministry leaders are eager to provide care to the less fortunate that also address long term needs. Some churches partner with debt counseling programs, many of which are faith based. Parishes also try to help tackle the root cause of poverty. Some churches are now even helping people pay off debt.

A local church is also a great place to turn to for referrals to assistance for bills or housing from other organization. They can direct you to charities, community action agencies, state as well as local government programs, and more. Volunteers, or the staff, may know of local food drives or be aware of charities that have money available for paying rent or energy bills.

Christians can also enroll into low cost health or dental insurance plans. A number of churches partner with ministries to offer this form of financial assistance to families, no matter their income or age. The policies are part of a sharing concept, which means all member premiums go towards paying the excessive medical bills of the patients or they cover prescription medications. A church can provide information, or find how to apply to low cost Christian health insurance.

Free resources, including food, clothes and more from a church

Meals, soup kitchens, free food, and non-financial help is often provided by churches. This is part of hunger prevention in local communities for low-income families. The support, including groceries, is often available at a food pantry that a local church may operate. Low income families, seniors, and the homeless can all benefit. More on food banks.

Free transportation programs from a church help the poor, people who need a car for work, singe moms or dads and others. There will generally be an auto dealership that gives out free vehicles (in partnership with a church) or a volunteer mechanic that works with a local church that fixes a car. But free or used autos are offered, and look here for free cars near you.

A church near you will also try to help pay for gas or car repairs or have the work done for free. This is for people who are faced with a crisis and have no money, then your local church may be a resource. Local mechanics may volunteer their time to work on an automobile to fix it, and therefore the labor may be free. Get details on car repairs and gasoline from churches.

Many churches provide holiday help, whether Catholic, Lutheran, Baptist or any religion. Churches may offer their own assistance and they partner with other local groups too, including with seasonal items such as free Christmas assistance programs from charities.

Faith based charities, including Christian churches and LDS organizations, provides counseling, including for addiction as well as health needs. Churches also help people with substance abuses challenges. There are free rehab centers for alcohol or drug addicts or other addictions. Some rehabilitation programs are free, others may have a low cost or be subsidized. Read more on free substance abuse programs.

Applying for limited emergency assistance from churches

Unfortunately, churches often just do not have the funding to assist everyone that needs it. While this will vary by state, many parishes, whether Jewish, Mormon - LDS, Christian or another faith try their best to meet demand. So when applying for financial help from a church, be sure it is a one time event as they focus on solving a crisis. A church will often ask for proof before issuing funds. They also tend to give priority to senior citizens, the ill, and vulnerable.

Churches try to offer short term, temporary emergency help to those that are qualified. They went to help pay a little bit of rent or give food, or give a motel room, on an emergency basis as a “hand up”, and not a “hand out”. Families cannot be dependent on the assistance. Typically, applications from a church require candidates to provide documentation showing they have a financial crisis or true short term emergency condition. This may include a copy of the lease showing the amount of rent that is due, a pay stub, an unpaid utility bill, or driver’s license to verify their address.

Local church assistance programs near you

Some of the major US counties and their church run assistance programs are listed below. There are thousands of churches, Christian organizations for struggling people and faith based groups of all religions. They help those of Christian faith, Protestant, UMC and Latter Day Saints as well as other faiths.

Everything from emergency homeless shelter or hotel vouchers to temporary rental or utility bill assistance as well as free food, meals, and clothes are offered for meeting basic needs. To locate a church in your area, near you, or for more information including referrals, some of the more populated counties as well as cities are listed below.

If you need additional help from a church near you or your area and it is not listed below? Send us an email at [email protected]. Include your email address, county and state. It is needed to send a reply to your request in order to direct you to assistance to a nearby church. Or use the search box / page to look for a church or visit or register in the community forum dedicated to how to get help from a church. You can read about real experiences from people across the country, find tips from those users and so much more in the forum.

Alameda County and Oakland

Allegheny County

Atlanta area

Austin and Travis County

Birmingham

Broward County

Buffalo and Erie County