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First and foremost, if you are finding it difficult to pay your rent you are not alone.  Hundreds of thousands of Americans are experiencing the same difficulty.

Yes, there are community resources that can come to your rescue when you need help paying rent…

Living in poverty brings a multitude of daily difficulties, but this poor living situatuin can become overwhelming if your situation worsens through circumstance to the point of requiring help paying rent.

When this becomes the case, you can easily reach an emotional state of hopelessness. What can you possibly do to avert homelessness? Don’t lose hope! Fortunately, we live in a giving society, where nearly every community provides resources to help people faced with such difficulties. Most often, such funding comes from a combination of sources, from government entitlements to charitable donations of funds from organizations and individuals.  So, please don’t despair -  you will be ok.  Sometimes things have to get pretty bad before they get better.

Should you suddenly find you’ll need help paying rent, don’t despair. Your first call should be to your state’s department of Social Services. They have their finger on the pulse of available community resources and can provide you with the names of local organizations which may be able to help pay rent this month until you get back on your feet. If you have a family and have lost your job or become ill or disabled, you may find help at hand from the State. They can also help you find work or acquire training and skills that will help you avoid the same situation in the future.

In the case of community agencies, be aware that they may not be able to give you help paying rent on the spot. If you anticipate that next month’s rent is going to be a problem, don’t wait until your landlord is ready to evict you. Be proactive and immediately contact any and every possible resource. Explain your situation and find out what paperwork is required and when they will accept your application. These agencies may have many people who are in exactly your situation and funding may be limited.

Faith based organizations are another resource you can explore. If you belong to a church, give them a call and see how they might be able to help in paying rent. If they cannot, they’re sure to have other leads that you can pursue.

Another way to approach the problem is to contact local food banks. Perhaps you wouldn’t need help paying rent if you didn’t have to spend all of your money buying food. You may also qualify for food stamps from government funding if your income is very low. Food banks and food stamp programs help people in poverty by providing basic foods to keep you going on a temporary basis. By accepting their help, you may just be able to make rent.

Don’t let your temporary situation get you down emotionally. When you get back on your feet, you can help your fellow citizens with a generous donation to a food bank, community agency or church. Remember, what goes around comes around. Good luck!

As a very last resort, consider a payday loan.  If the difference is between being evicted or paying a high interest loan  - you should probably consider the latter.