In California, there are various agencies to assist individuals who have fallen down on their luck.....?
Why is there no assistance monetarily for the single individuals sans minor offspring who may need rental assistance due to a financial hardship such as perhaps the loss of a job, burglary, etc. The criteria for the Community Action Agency, Salvation Army, St. Vincent DePaul and other agencies and/or churches is that you must have minor children in the home residing with you. Are there not any agencies that will help a woman without children???????
Jerribear762007-08-15T12:21:12Z
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I am also here in California and volunteer at a Homeless Shelter. I am familiar with all the organizations you have mentioned and know that most places do only help families with children, specifically women. It is even harder for a single father and his children to find homeless assistance and gets even more difficult for anyone with children over 10, especially with boys because they feel teenage boys are more troublesome.
The shelter I volunteer at is not really a "shelter" but actually a transitional program for homeless. On our brochures it says that we assist "families". However, they do also allow single couples and individuals as well. Ours is a program where you are provided a 2 bedroom, fully furnished apartment rent free for 90 days. You must be working or actively seeking employment. You in turn give your paycheck to us and it is placed in a trust fund for you that is returned at the end of the 90 days for you to use as a deposit into your own place. They also provide bagged food and clothing, have an after school program for kids, and offer counseling and legal services. After the 90 days if they have vacancies, you can transition into their year long program or they will assist you with finding other affordable places.
You did not mention the county you are in. I am in San Bernardino County and I am familiar with one other organization similar to ours that also accepts people without children. The only difference in theirs is that you would have a roommate in a 2 bedroom apartment. And of course they only pair females together and vice versa.
The only drawback I can tell you for sure is that they do not always have openings. At ours, every 3 months or so they will accept applications. This is only one day and you are out of luck if you aren't there. People will call on an almost daily basis to check status of availability to ensure they do not miss it.
If you are located in San Bernardino County you can contact me through my profile page and I would be more than happy to provide you with any and all information and phone numbers I can, including the two I mentioned.
You may also want to try calling 211. This is free of charge from any telephone. You will be connected with United Way and they can provide you with referrals for housing, food, clothing, etc. in your local area.