Are you a single mother living in the state of Arkansas? If so, you may feel alone, especially if you are not receiving any type of support from the father of your children or from anyone else.
While you may feel alone, there is certainly help available to you, making it easier for you to get the basic necessities for your children and yourself.
Raising children and supporting them is difficult in most situations but it is even more challenging when you are a single mother who has been left to do everything on her own. Thankfully there a number of resources, most of which are provided from the government, which will make it a whole lot easier for you to afford the cost of living and raising a child.
Food Resources
In the state of Arkansas, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is available, helping low-income individuals and families, particularly single mothers. The program is often referred to as SNAP, which is an abbreviation for the words in the program.
Millions of dollars are spread out evenly to help most of the low-income families and single mothers who are in need of help paying for food. The cost of groceries has only continued to increase over the past few years, making it harder to afford. You may have found yourself in the predicament where you are struggling to buy food for your children and have to pay bills at the same time.
The SNAP program helps you so that you will no longer have to deal with the stress of wondering how you will pay for the food for your children. On this program, you may even be provided with a certain amount of money on a special card each month.
The money as such can only be used to buy groceries at different stores. With the help of this program, you can manage to save money and use it on other basic necessities.
www.benefits.gov/benefits/benefit-details/1108
Childcare Assistance
As a single mother, you are not only responsible for caring for your children on your own; you also end up being the primary breadwinner, responsible for the task of earning an income that your children and you can live off of.
It may be hard to find and keep a job, especially if you are unable to find someone who would be willing to watch your child. If you cannot afford the cost of daycare, especially as the cost for such care continues to increase, you can get help paying your childcare costs.
The state of Arkansas provides child care assistance to low-income families and those who qualify. The program is funded by the Child Care Development Fund and is part of the Department of Health and Human Services, also known as DHS.
If you are eligible for this assistance program, which you more than likely will be, you can get help paying the cost of childcare so that it will not cost you a fortune to have your child in a nice childcare center while you are working and making a living.
www.arkansas.gov/childcare/news.html
Rent Assistance
The cost of living continues to rise and in this type of economy, many people are struggling to afford their rental payments.
If you are in this situation, especially as a single mother, you can get help with your monthly rent payments. There are plenty of different rental assistance programs available in the state of Arkansas, each of which varies from city to city in the state.
You can contact your local Housing Counseling Agency to find out more information about getting the help that you need with your rent payments.
Affordable Healthcare
Healthcare is, by far, one of the most important things that you need to have for you and for your children as well. However, healthcare is not always affordable and a trip to the doctor’s office or emergency room can end up costing you a fortune.
If you cannot afford healthcare coverage, you can go to your local county assistance office to find out more about getting on Medicaid, a type of insurance that is offered to low-income families and individuals.
As a single mother, you need to have insurance for yourself so that you can stay up to date with your health. You also need to have healthcare for your children so that they can receive checkups and get help if they are ever sick.
Aside from Medicaid, there are some affordable health insurance plans available in the state of Arkansas as well.
The Arkansas Department of Human Services (DHS)
Grants and Scholarships/College and School
As a single mother, you may feel that going to college or furthering your education at a trade school would be simply impossible, especially with all of your other responsibilities.
However, this is entirely untrue, especially since there are plenty of scholarships and grants available for single moms who are interested in furthering their education. And, you can even receive childcare assistance while you are in school to further your education so that you can have better career opportunities.
In the state of Arkansas, you can apply for the Arkansas Single Parent Scholarship Fund in which you can receive assistance as a single mother to go to school. You can also apply for grants that are made available specifically for single mothers.
College Scholarships and Grants for Single Mothers
Financial Assistance
In the state of Arkansas, you can apply for Temporary Employment Assistance, often referred to as TEA or cash assistance.
You may be currently out of work and actively seeking employment but still need help with some expenses. In this case, the financial assistance would be ideal.
While it is a temporary form of assistance, it is the kind of assistance that can help you to get back on your feet. Overall, there is plenty of help for single mothers in Arkansas.