Times are tough, money is scarce, and the economy is predicted to remain bad for years to come. Single mothers are some of the most vulnerable people to a bad economy. Why? Single moms typically don’t have good jobs and are burdened with the responsibility of children. For most mothers who are making their own way in life, the future can be bleak indeed. But, it doesn’t have to be this case. Single mother assistance is out there for moms who just need a bit of a helping hand.

Single mother assistance can come in the form of peer help, financial help, or just simple advice, such as this website offers. The one thing we have to stress to mothers looking for help is that YOU are going to have to take responsibility for your life. If you are waiting for handouts or someone to save you, you are going to wait a long time.

The best way to get assistance as a single mother is to find it yourself. If you are a struggling mother, you probably know this better than anyone else. Just because you need help, doesn’t mean the government or anyone else is going to bang down your door to offer you the help you need. You are going to have to get out there and seek out that help yourself.

Fortunately, for those mothers who are willing to spend time seeking the help they need, there is help. Many single moms have often been abused and are in need of emotional help. There are all sorts of programs that can help you – battered women shelters, religious groups offering aid for single mothers in need, and government-sponsored peer support. The best way to find these centers are to look online and search out what sort of single mother help is offered in your area.

If you are looking for single mother financial assistance, there is plenty to be had if you spend the time looking around for it. One of the best sources for single mother assistance is that actual government. You can get health insurance, grants, financial aid for school, and even housing assistance in some cases.

Let’s look at some of the options for single mother help.

Health Insurance for Single Mothers

No doubt as a single mother, the health of both you and your children is pretty important. If your kids get sick and you don’t have the money, it can be absolutely terrifying. The good news is there are some government health insurance programs that can give your children basic health care. There are also some cheap health insurance options offered by private companies  that can save you money off regular insurance.

For single mother health insurance programs, there are basically two government options:

• State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) – This government program gives funds to states that have approved programs that provide health insurance to uninsured children. Children (who are not insured) up to the age of 19 may be covered with this program. For families that don’t meet Medicaid’s income requirements may qualify for SCHIP.

• Medicaid — The main government health-insurance for low-income families. To qualify you may have one of the following: high medical bills, you recieve Supplemental Security Income (SSI), you are considered a low income and meet the government-qualifications.

Government Grant Assistance for Single Mothers

Grants are actually a much misunderstood form of government support. Some people assume that grants are just freely given out by the government. This is partially untrue. Grants are free, yes, but you have to qualify for them first and then you have to apply for them. Even then, there is no guarantee that you get grant approval.

Grants are really designed for a single purpose – to help someone accomplish something specific. This is why you see many business grants, school grants, or home improvement grants. The government’s reasoning is that grants can be used to improve a person’s productivity in some way, or allow a person to accomplish something that will help improve their life in some way (and reduce the chance of needing future government help).

Now there are actually very few government grants for individuals outside of education. But there are a whole wack of state grants and financial assistance programs that a single mother, being a low income individual in most cases, may qualify for.

The best way to find government grants for single mothers is to look to see what sort of state assistance you can find. You can also do your own search online and check out any grant offers you discover on your own from private sources. It’s important that you look at as many grant offers you spot online as possible. The more grants you look at, the more of a chance you will find a grant that you actually qualify for, and the more grants you can apply for. Basically, the more grants you send out, the higher the chance you have of getting grant funding you need.

Here are a few well known state assistance programs single moms can take advantage of.

Families First/Temporary Assistance for Needy Families — A government program that hands out cash (usually small sums) to needy families. To qualify, you must work at least 30 hours a week or participate in some kind of job training program.

Free or Reduced Meals Program — The government believes that every child should have the nutrition they need to grow up healthy. Surveys show that for some children, the only proper nutrition they get in their diet is at school. The Free or Reduced Meals program provides low income families free or reduced school lunch meals.

WIC Program– For this program, the government gives out coupons each month to needy families. The coupons change each month and aim to deliver items that pregnant women or young children need.

Food Stamps–One of the oldest federal assistance programs and one of the most popular. Food stamps provide needy families with a means to supplement their food through government assistance.

Besides government grants, there are private grants to be had too – so don’t just limit yourself to looking at the government websites. Private grants are typically harder to qualify for – at least the popular ones are – but its well worth your time checking some of them out and sending in an application. If you really spend some time looking around for private grants for mothers, you can sometimes turn up grants few other people know about. These hard to find grants can really be golden because you stand a very good chance of getting the money. Grants, when used for the right purpose like getting an education, can be a great source for single mother assistance.

Education Assistance for Single Mothers

For single mothers wanting to get an education, there are a whole wack of programs out there to take advantage of. The government loves funding education because it’s one of the best paths to improving an individual’s economic situation while reducing reliance on government help programs. If you are a single mother in need of school financial aid, here area couple programs to take advantage of.

• Stafford Student Loans — The backbone Federal Student Loan program
• Perkins Student Loans — Another federal student loan
• Pell Grant — Free grant money for low income students

To qualify for government financial aid, you MUST fill out the FAFSA application.

There are also a whole range of private financial aid programs low-income students can take advantage of. For example, single mothers may look at applying for the ScholarshipZone 10k Scholarship program which offers a $10,000 draw every month.

Housing Assistance for Single Mothers

The government also provides housing assistance programs. These may be in the form of housing vouchers, grants for buying a new home, or even low-income housing options. For more information you should check out the government’s HUD webpage.

Final Word on Single Mother Assistance

As a single mother looking for help, you don’t need to be afraid that there are no resources to help you out. There are plenty of resources. Your best bet is to use the internet to aid your search for single mother help. Look for grants, scholarships, and other financial aid  sources. Make sure you visit website dedicated to giving free advice for single mothers. Join a community of like-minded mothers. You can find a lot of help out there if you just look. Single mother assistance is possible — you just need to look.