Hardship Grants To Provide Support For United States Citizens

Last Updated on August 22, 2023 by Hannah Stevens

People are often thrust into difficult situations, which sometimes can be overwhelming, and feel like you can never get out. This is most especially true for low-income individuals and families who don’t have any money spared in their pockets. Hardship grants can help support your living financially. Another benefit from receiving hardship grants is that you are in no position to repay the nonprofit organizations for the money you’ll receive. In this article, I will be discussing hardship grants you can apply for.

Does federal goverment provide hardship grant?

No, Individuals do not get federal hardship grants. Instead, these grants aid certain groups or an entire community. Usually, local governments, universities and nonprofits, and companies businesses are the only eligible recipients of these grants.

Food Grants for Americans Encountering Financial Hardship

Food grants are a need for low-income individuals and families, especially if they have no means in procuring food of their own. The purpose of these food grants is to be given to qualified applicants to grant them access to food. The benefits they will receive will be used for the right purpose.

Furthermore, the following list contains food grants for Americans encountering financial hardship:

Commodity Supplemental Food Program – The program’s objective is to ensure that senior citizens will have access to healthy food. So, they give them a package full of healthy food monthly.

National School Lunch Program – Established in 1946 by President Harry Truman, this is intended for children who will be given free or discounted lunches. This program delivers its purposes in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program or SNAP – This is designed to help low-income individuals and families pay for their groceries. Qualified applicants will be given a benefits card they can use when they are buying from specific grocery stores and farmers markets.

WIC Program – This is a short-term program that focuses on giving healthy food to young children and mothers. It provides nutrition counselling and helps women regarding welfare, health, and social services programs. Eligibility includes infants, children, and women.

What are the Medical Grants Given to Americans Encountering Financial Hardship?

Medical grants, similar to food grants, have a purpose to serve low-income individuals and families to have a better quality of life. Medical grants either provide financial assistance or tools and equipment to certain hospitals for the recipients to take benefit. Their purpose to offer accessible and affordable healthcare insurance and medical-related issues will be advantageous for the recipients.

Furthermore, the following list contains medical grants for Americans encountering financial hardships:

Children Health Insurance Program or CHIP – This is given to children with low-income family backgrounds. This program offers affordable health insurance for kids and teens. Aside from that, they will also receive regular check-ups, dentist visits, mental health services, hospital care, immunizations, etc.

Medicaid – This program is designed to help low-income individuals and families have free and discounted health benefits.

What financial assistance is available for US Citizens with medical emergencies abroad?

There are limited emergency medical assistance loans that are available for US citizens that can be compensated for some time. For emphasis, it’s given to temporarily destitute US citizens and their qualified family members. However, to apply for these loans, their US passports will be issued as limited for its use and will not be subjected to apply for a new one not until the loan is paid in full. Interested applicants can also inquire in the nearest US embassy or consulate’s website to know the list of hospitals and doctors. Moreover, the availability of medical services depends on their locations.

What are disaster grants?

Disasters can happen in the most unexpected of ways. No one can foresee it nor have the ability to stop it. Disasters can turn everybody’s lives upside down, and getting back on one’s feet once again is a matter of will, determination, and hope. To people who have difficulty in spending money when disasters strike, they are blessedly lucky. But to people whose money only came in scraps may already have anticipated the worst-case scenario. Disaster grants offer financial assistance and equipment to individuals who suffered through an impending disaster.

Furthermore, the following list contains disaster grants:

Preparedness (non-Disaster) Grants – This offers funding to state and local governments to equip emergency responders with the necessary resources to prevent, respond to, and recover from any terrorist-related attacks.

DHS Financial Assistance – Grants, cooperation agreements, training, loans, direct payments, and national flood insurance are what covers this program, which transfers something of value for a public purpose to a non-federal recipient.

Flood Risk Management Program – This program seeks collaboration with agencies to apply the programs, expertise, and policies of USACE for the intention of decreasing the percentage of flood risk.

Continuing Authorities Program – It consists of nine legislative authorities under which the Corps of Engineers can plan and implement water resources projects. Moreover, the purpose of CAP is to fund projects of limited cost, scope, size, and complexity.

Assistance to Firefighter Grants – They give funding for necessary equipment for fire emergencies and to train emergency personnel, promote community resilience, and improve efficiencies.

Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP) – Any long-term measure that minimizes or eliminates the danger of future disasters to persons and property is referred to as hazard mitigation. In order to mitigate disaster losses, FEMA’s hazard mitigation assistance provides financing for qualifying mitigation actions.

Office of Justice Programs – They help law enforcement and courts mitigate the rate of crime, judicial cases, and assist victims of crime.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) – This offers to fund fire departments and promotes an increase in the number of trained firefighters available in communities.

Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery Program – It offers funding to give to cities, counties, states as an allocated budget for rehabilitation repairs.

Pre-Disaster Mitigation (PDM) – It offers funds intended for hazard mitigation planning and projects annually.

Expansion of Rural 911 Service Access Loans & Loan Guarantee – They provide affordable dual-use public safety/commercial wireless networks, homeland security communications, and finances 911 for state and local governments, tribes acknowledged by the government, communication equipment providers, and eligible Rural Utilities Service borrowers.

Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response Grants (SAFER) – This offers to fund fire departments and promotes an increase in the number of trained firefighters available in communities.
Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA) – It offers to fund projects whose objective centers on reducing or eliminating the risk of flood damage to infrastructures that are insured under the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) annually.

Emergency Community Water Assistance Grants – They offer assistance to state and local governments, and nonprofit organizations to recover or prepare from any emergency that threatens the security or clean water resources.

Fire Prevention & Safety Grants – This offers assistance to programs and organizations focusing on decreasing risks of fire-related hazards and securing the safety of the public.

Fire Prevention & Safety Grants – This offers assistance to programs and organizations focusing on decreasing risks of fire-related hazards and securing the safety of the public.

Preparedness (non-Disaster) Grants – This offers funding to state and local governments to equip emergency responders with the necessary resources to prevent, respond to, and recover from any terrorist-related attacks.

Utilities Grants for People Struggling Financially

Utilities are one of the essential needs everybody must have access to survive. For low-income individuals, it’s hard to pay utility bills when they don’t have anything to support them financially. Money is the common factor why everybody doesn’t own a single utility because it is expensive and inaccessible. However, these utility grants will help them pay for utility bills or even provide them with one.

Furthermore, the following list contains utility grants for people struggling financially:

Solid Waste Management Grant Program FY16 – Benefits that will be received includes Support for operators of closed or soon-to-be-closed landfills, as well as technical assistance and/or training to improve operator skills in the maintenance and operation of active landfills, as well as technical assistance and/or training to help associations minimize the solid waste stream.

Assistance to High Energy Cost Rural Communities – It has funding of over $10 million in competitive grants to help communities pay their extremely high energy costs.

Household Water Well Grant Program – This offers financial assistance to low-and-moderate-income individuals who have difficulty paying for their household water wells that they own or will own.

TAT Grant Program FY16 – Through free technical assistance and/or training offered by grant recipients, the Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) Grant Program was created to aid communities with water or sewage systems.

Community Connect – This provides funding in the form of grants to underserved areas and broadband service to stimulate economic growth and offers improved education, public safety, and health care services.

Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant Program – In remote areas, the DLT program aids in the funding of distant learning and telemedicine services to expand access to resources like education, training, and health care that might otherwise be limited or unavailable.
Rural Housing Preservation Grants – It’s associated with their Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. They offer financial assistance to low-income homeowners in rehabilitating their homes in rural areas.

Rural Community Development Initiative – This is available to private, nonprofit, and public tribal intermediary organizations that offer programs regarding financial and technical assistance. The funding amounts to $50,000 to $250,000.

State Bulk Fuel Revolving Fund Grant Program – To provide a more cost-effective means of acquiring fuel for rural areas that are not serviced by surface transportation all year, this initiative assists state governments in establishing and supporting revolving loan programs.

Community Connect Grant Program – They offer funding to grant rural and economically-challenged communities have broadband services.

Revolving Fund Program – This program offers technical and financial assistance intended for communities to have clean water and sanitary and environmentally-friendly waste disposal facilities in rural areas.

SWM Grant Program 2015 – This program assists communities by giving them free technical assistance or training provided by grant recipients. Qualified organizations will receive funding that will be used to decrease the percentage of water pollution in rural areas, and build solid waste sites.

Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program – This provides assistance to rural areas to have their stations transitioned to fully digital.

Who are eligible for LIHEAP?

A person or family participating in certain other benefit programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), Supplemental Security Income (SSI), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF or welfare), or certain needs-tested veterans benefits may be automatically eligible. Being qualified for LIHEAP does not guarantee that you will receive help. Whether or not you receive help depends on how much LIHEAP funding is available for the year. On average, about 20% of households that are qualified for LIHEAP receive benefits. When LIHEAP funds run out for the year, no more benefits can be given until Congress makes more funds available.

Unemployment Grants in United States

Being fired from one’s job or having difficulty landing one is most common during the pandemic. If someone doesn’t have a job, they won’t have enough resources to sustain themselves or their family in the long run. Having a stable job is one of the most important ingredients to have a better quality of life. To provide support for unemployed individuals, grants are given. They will receive many benefits they may use to either launch a business or save money for future purposes.

Furthermore, the following list contains unemployment grants in the US:

Welfare or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – This is run by the government and offers financial assistance to low-income individuals and families.

COBRA – This is otherwise known as Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act allowing workers and their families to have their temporary employee’s group health insurance plan.
Educational Help – Federal agencies give affordable unemployment education and training programs for unemployed individuals.

Self-Employment Help – Delaware, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New York, and Oregon offer this program that assists unemployed individuals planning to start a small business.

Short-Term and Long-Term Disability Insurance – For short-term policies, qualified applicants may pay for up to two years and last for a few months up to a year while long-term policies last for a few years until the disability ends.

Unemployment Insurance – This is intended for individuals who have been fired from their jobs. If a state has a high rate of unemployed, there are additional benefits qualified applicants may receive.

Federal Disability Programs – It has two programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is intended for disabled people and Supplemental Security Home (SSI) is intended for old disabled people who have no income or resources to sustain themselves.

What are the cash assistance grants?

Money has always been a problem for everybody. It’s hard to have money if you don’t have a stable job, sidelines, etc. Sometimes, people overwork too much, having to juggle two jobs at the same time just so they could have more money saved for future purposes. So, these cash assistance grants intended for low-income individuals are such a great help for them to move on or start over.

Furthermore, the following list contains cash assistance grants:

Supplemental Security Income or SSI – Senior citizens and disabled people who apply for this program can receive financial assistance.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or TANF – This is given to low-income families and offers child care, job training, and cash assistance for a short time.

Who are eligible of TANF?

Each state or tribal territory has its own rules for who is eligible for financial help, services, or other benefits.
You must be a resident of the state where you are applying.

What are the emergency grants during COVID-19 for financially burdened people?

Ever since the COVID-19 virus spread across the world, people’s lives have come to a sudden halt. Everything was affected by this sudden emergence of viral infection. Businesses, education, jobs, etc. are some of the examples that took the greatest hit brought on by the pandemic. Even worse is that while we’re under a pandemic, there are also emergencies or incidents happening. It’s always unexpected and with the lack of money due to the pandemic, mostly everyone doesn’t have any penny saved.

However, the government took that responsibility. The following list contains emergency grants during COVID-19 for financially burdened people:

Unemployment Compensation – Starting on March 21, The American Rescue Plan extended the employment assistance, and waived some federal taxes on unemployment benefits to help those who got fired or lost their job due to the pandemic.

Homeowner Assistance Fund – A $10 billion is being offered by The American Rescue Plan for states, territories, and Tribes to be utilized by vulnerable homeowners.

Coronavirus Relief Fund – They offer funding to state, local, and Tribal governments to recover from the effects of the pandemic.

Paycheck Protection Program – They give small businesses the necessary resources and equipment to maintain the functionality of small businesses.

Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds – An emergency funding of $350 billion offered by The American Rescue Plan intended for qualified state, local, territorial, and Tribal governments to be given to recipients.

Emergency Rental Assistance Program – Around $21.6 billion is being provided by The American Rescue Plan for states, territories, and local governments that will, in turn, give it to homeowners who have difficulty paying rent and utilities due to the pandemic.

Emergency Capital Investment Program – They focus on low-and-moderate-income community financial institutions.

Economic Impact Payments – The Treasury Department, the Bureau of the Fiscal Services, and the Internal Revenue Services (IRS) are collaborating to distribute three rounds of direct financial assistance during the pandemic, and payments done in the third round will be disbursed to Americans.

Emergency Rental Assistance – This funding is available to government entities intended for homeowners who are unable to pay rent or utilities.
State Small Business Credit Initiative – The American Rescue Plan is offering $10 billion to state and tribal governments as funding for small small business credit expansion initiatives.

Capital Projects Fund – This is designed for rural areas and low-and-moderate-income communities. They will be given financial assistance to be used to build infrastructures and access to the Internet.

Small Business Tax Credit Programs – The extension of critical tax benefits is being offered by The American Rescue Plan, specifically the Paid Leave Credit and Employee Retention Credit, intended for small businesses to use.

Child Tax Credit – This credit was increased by The American Rescue Plan and extended its coverage to help those families caring for their children.

What to do if you’re not eligible of hardship grants?

If you’re not eligible for hardship grants, you can always turn to Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding is social networking that’s meant to connect people and raise funds. With this, people can help one another, and even help people pay for their house rent, water and electricity bills, college tuition, etc. Crowdfunding is also seen as some sort of emergency financial assistance since it can immediately start to raise funds for your cause. Nowadays, almost everyone is on the Internet and many people from across the world can donate you some money. The funds you will receive from your fundraising campaign will immediately go to you or your bankin

People are often thrust into difficult situations, which sometimes can be overwhelming, and feel like you can never get out. This is most especially true for low-income individuals and families who don’t have any money spared in their purses or pockets. People become desperate to have money, and that desperation leads to something unpleasant. Everyone would do anything just to have money. Hardship grants can help you lift that burden from your shoulders. You don’t have to do anything except apply and wait if you’re eligible to receive the grant. The grant you will receive can be used for many purposes; however, it also has limitations. Use the grant money wisely and save some of it for future purposes. Another benefit from receiving hardship grants is that you are in no position to repay the government or nonprofit organizations for the money you’ll receive. In this article, I will be discussing the various hardship grants you can apply for.