Alabama State Assistance For Single Mothers
Help for Single Moms In Alabama
Life for single moms is becoming more and more difficult as the cost of day-to-day life continues to increase. For single moms living in Alabama, there are programs available to help with everyday expenses. If you are struggling to make ends meet as a single mom, this guide will show you where to get help.
Childcare – As a single mom you must work, and working requires a place to take your kids for safe childcare. The Office of Child Care Subsidy is a branch of the Department of Human Resources that offers subsidized childcare to low and moderate-income families. If you do not qualify for this help, check into churches that offer affordable daycare. If your kids are in school but you need after-school childcare to visit the doctor or run errands, consider swapping childcare with another single mom or two.
Healthcare – Keeping your children healthy is one of your primary concerns as a mom. Alabama offers two programs for uninsured children. The ALL Kids Program is available for kids under the age of 19 who do not qualify for Medicaid nor have enough income for private health insurance. SOBRA Medicaid is offered to low to middle income children and pregnant women. Children who do not qualify for either of these but do not have insurance may be able to get healthcare through the Alabama Child Caring Foundation, depending on income. Uninsured adults who have low income may qualify for Medicaid. Find out more at http://healthinsurance.alabama.gov/unins_children.htm.
Food and Supplies – If your children are under the age of 5 or you are expecting, you may qualify for WIC (Woman, Infants, and Children) (1-888-WIC HOPE) http://www.adph.org/wic/ , which gives you coupons for healthy food staples like milk and cheese. Low-income families can get help for basic food through Alabama’s food stamps program. If you do not qualify for these, look for your local food pantry or food bank, where you can get food at a low cost.
Transportation – Getting a good job requires reliable transportation. Look at your city’s public transportation. If you qualify for Medicaid, you may be able to get a voucher to cover some of the cost of public transportation.
Rent Assistance – If you need help paying your rent, look for a Public Housing Agency in your area. They will help you apply for rent assistance programming through the Public Housing and Housing Choice Vouchers section 8 program, if you qualify. Subsidized apartments through Alabama HUD, are also available at a reduced rate.
Educational Grants – Getting your degree is often the first step in bettering your family’s situation. Start searching for grants by filing the FAFSA and taking any federal grants you qualify for. Then, talk to the school you are considering to learn about other financial aid options. Also be sure to research school scholarships for more financial assistance options.
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{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Most people don’t know how it feel to be on warfare. There are some people that know the TRUTH about it. I sit back and read alot about warefare and I realize that most people that speak on it don’t really know about it. If you really want some really good accurate feed back then get someone thats on warfare and get them to talk about debt or warefare. Im sure I will not get any feedback because America don’t want to hear the truth.
My name is Amber Kirby. I am a student and I’m a single mother of a little 12 year old girl. I am in serious jeopardy of losing my home, my utilities, my phone, I have no food for my little girl, my car payment is getting further and further behind, and now… my mother passed away yesterday by committing suicide. I am so devistated. I’m trying to get a second job right now but am having great difficulty in doing so. I’m a determined mother to provide for my child but I must say I am at wits end. I need help. I need guidance. Please write me back and let me know if you can help me with any of these situations I am in or direct me to sites that can help. Thank you so very much for your time and consideration.
Amber
I am a single my my daughtar is six she is having surgery on the 30 th of november 2010 I have no car
And I am haveing to move by the 22 of nov I am needing help to get a car I found one for 500 dollars but I
Have no credit and no one to help me I am open to suggestions please e mail me at bright_eyes0704@yahoo.com
Please I am begging for help we are living on 131.00 a month right now cause I have no way to go get a job
We are moving to a town were we know no one I am 31 and I need help please please please I am begging
Im sorry that your having hard times right now.If you need transportation to and from doctors appt. with your daughter, try KID ONE im not sure what state your in but you can log on to there website and see if they are in your area. GOOD LUCK!!!!!
my friend needs a realble way of transprortaion she has a child with a heart condition .She lives in Moody Al.
Tell your friend to take a look at our articles in the transportation section. They detail a whole bunch of programs she might not have heard of or thought of, like credit unions, non-profits, etc. It would probably also be helpful to try and look up programs in your area specifically.
Food assistance in Alabama is a joke! I am now a single mother of 3 with another on the way and according to DHR I make too much money to get food stamps! I get child support of 200 a month, make $13.00 an hour, pay all of my bills and can’t seems to keep food in the house. It is very cold here now and we are using 2 space heaters and the oven to keep warm because it is too expensive to get the gas turned on……It seems like they say there is alot of help for single moms, but apparently its only for the single moms who don’t work. No offense to anyone who cant work, I am talking about those who are able but are too lazy to put forth the effort to try.
I understand how you feel, because it you are working, and assistance isn’t there. The system is setup to be a temporary relief for people needing help. Even though being a parent is a beautiful thing, you also need to be aware that we ourselves make our situation worse. Why have another child, and you know your situation. I beg you please have protected sexual activity, so you won’t continue having more children in this situation.
First off, for those that need help, try http://www.wishuponahero.com. It is a site where you can say what is wrong and there are people who may help you out.
@ Miss Allen, I agree. People don’t know what they are talking about when they are running their mouth…
@ Cindy – that is CRAZY! Try Catholic Social Services, the food bank, Salvation Army – I’m not sure but there has to be something else you would qualify for.
I am trying desperately to resolve a defaulted student loan so I can go back and finish my degree as well as raise my son and work part-time because I can’t work full-time because of health problems and childcare and transportation issues. I haven’t really tried to find much help but live with family in order to have a home and utilities because my son has special needs and I’ve really been through a lot that would not have made it on my own for sure.
Good luck to all of you & God bless you and your families.
I am a single mother of 2. I recently was denied for foodstamps because I was under 22. I am trying to find a job to support myself and my two children. One of my children’s father’s won’t do anything for her because he denies her because of his first child’s mother. I am currently waiting to receive child support. I have no transportation to get around. I have to rely on others who don’t wanna help, because they are to stuck on themselves or stingy and low-down to even consider helping. I am trying and I see no light at the end of this tunnel. If there is supposed to be all this help out there for single mothers I haven’t seen any. Somebody needs to complain to the state, because this is ridiculous.
I am a single mother, with no income, of two little boys; three and four. Their father, whom I never married, has not worked a day since our second child was born. I am living with my parents and family here and there. I do receive food stamps and Medicaid, also for myself, BUT the MAIN thing Alabama needs to work on is getting reliable and HELPFUL staff sitting behind the desks of these government-ran agencies!!! My boys went three months without our food stamps, even with me driving an hour to the food stamp office on numerous occasions, barely able to afford gas, just to be told I could not be seen without an appointment. Well, when I spoke to our case worker she stated, and I quote “I am unable to schedule appointments so you’ll have to call the front and ask to reschedule.” To make a long story short, it took me forever to correct this situation. Does anyone know out there exactly the child support laws for this state? We never married so there was no “child visitation” set, he isn’t even on neither of our sons’ birth certificates due to a mistake on the hospitals end and our second him not being at the hospital to sign. Years ago I started the child support process, but never went to court due to just wanting to walk away from their father and CHOSE not to have him in our lives. He’s not exactly a “bad” guy, he just doesn’t want to work. I am just fed up of doing this alone and NEED and WANT help! Any info on child custody laws or on assistance of any kind would be most helpful!! Thanks!
Unfortunately, we don’t have area specific information on our site, but I would suggest looking it up online. The more knowledgeable you are about laws, the farther you can get with the people you have to work with. Also, there’s plenty of assistance programs mentioned on our site besides food stamps. Try looking at our financial assistance area. It can definitely give you tons of information that could be useful to your situation.
Heres the “truth” about Alabama Welfare…I have a 6 month old beautiful little girl. I am a single mother. I have a job that pays me 7.50 (no joke!) an hour at an average of 25 hours per week. On a good week I MIGHT…MIGHT!…break 175.00. I am a full time college student. I can not afford even the cheapest rent at 400.00 per month and there is a 2yr wait list for government housing, and a 4 yr waitlist for section 8 housing. I have a 15 year old car that is in constant need of repair because it has 350,000 miles. I have no IRA’s, savings, bonds, stocks ect. I own no property. I am essientailly one paycheck away from being homeless to the point if I miss work for any reason I will be. I applied for foodstamps and assitance for childcare. I was told “You are overqualified because you have too many assets.” THEN I was told (by the social services worker HERSELF (!!!!!!!!!!!)) that had I “been black or hispanic”, she “would have had NO PROBLEMS approving me”!!!!!!!! (!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!?) I applied for WIC and AFTER approving me, when I went to renew and add my daughter, I was told that I was no longer qualified. Nothing had changed except that I had NO income at this point. I applied for medicaid for my daughter and for myself to cover her birth, and was told that I made too much money for either of us to receive assitance so I now have a $36,000.00 hospital bill looming over my head that I can not pay. Would someone please explain to me why these are called “benefits”? Benefit means to help, and I sure dont see any help here.
I honestly don’t know where you all are getting your information. I know Alabama’s assistance sucks and all, but you do not make enough money to not qualify for assistance. All you have to do is look up the income requirements (via government websites) and you will see you clearly do not make enough money. I would print that out and take it with you. I have problems with my vehicle also, will not start as we speak. The JOBS program will pay for daycare, provide clothing (someone meets you at a clothing store from the program and literally pays for them if approved work clothing), and even pays to have your vehicle fixed (not sure about the amount they will spend). The ONLY downfall with the JOBS program is you will have to take the “sperm donor” to court for child support. You can go through the JOBS program by applying for family assistance at the food stamp office or by calling the human resources department at 945-3700, the office is located in Homewood off Oxmoor Rd. Of course this information is for residents around the Birmingham/Jefferson County area.
I would definitely take a look at our assistance articles – they contain everything from housing to legal services. There’s plenty of organizations out there who can be of help, and there’s no reason you shouldn’t get assistance from them as well.
I’m a single mother who moved here from knoxville,tn to get a better start on life. I had my baby in February and I just recently found a job I live with my dad and his wife. I went to DHR to see if I could get help for my daughter so she could go to daycare and the worker told me 9.00 an hour was to much and I wouldn’t qualify for daycare assitance. I called CMA and there waiting list is 18-24 months long. I really thought Alabama had a better system and also what broke my heart is when I called the Madison county health department to ask them for help with an extra can of milk until I could cash in her wic vouchers they told me there was nothing they could do they couldn’t give me a can. I’m really disappointesd in alabama’s system they have a very crappy system for the single parents who are trying to make the best of their situation. I really need help finding daycare assitances before I lose my new job due to not having daycare for my daughter. Anyone with info please please please please email me wishsean2008@yahoo.com
In Alabama, you can look into The Office of Child Care Subsidy. It is a branch of the Department of Human Resources that offers subsidized childcare to low and moderate-income families. If you do not qualify for this help, check into churches that offer affordable daycare. Also, other programs such as TANF often offers childcare to its participants, but that can vary by state and even county, so check into your area to see what that can do for you!
How heartbreaking it is to read about all these young people in trouble. I was almost one of them. We married too young and had a baby right a way. I had a job as a medical transcriptionist and made OK money, he was in the military and wanted out. That was a very poor choice and has haunted him ever since. We moved to Alabama after his tour and lived on my income of only 6.00/hr. back in 1984. If it was not for our family, we would have gone hungry. We had no health insurance and we were all sick constantly. I was suffering from severe depression and my husband did not care, how could he, he was too young and immature. We divorced. After moving back in with my family in KS and then back to AL to try to make it work with my ex-husband, I left him again. Fortunately, I got a job at UAB in medical records and was able to eek out a living and support myself and my son. UAB had a program where I could work and go to college so I chose nursing and went to school. My parents helped me with a car and a few expenses. I made good grades and received grants and scholarships. I was finally able to get child support as my ex finally got a job where he could afford to pay me. Hurdle after hurdle to jump through but I was determined not to let my son or myself suffer in poverty. Nothing was easy and I look back and think, wow I don’t know how I did it. I was a self-taught medical transcriptionist. I was immature but not the worst. Hard knocks was my teacher and I hated every minute of it but I did learn a lot. I am now 53 and I’ve been a BSN prepared nurse for 16 years. I have a wonderful job and making a good income but my mental and physical health have taken a hard hit over the years. My advice is to set a goal, search out answers to your questions, be informed, be tenacious and never give up. If you fail, get up, dust yourself off, have a cry and push on. I lost my first nursing job after one month because of inexperience. That was devistating but I had to go on. Look closely at yourself for talents you may not have thought were important. Are you bilingual? Are you good at art or decorating? Are you good at managing your own office and money? Do you enjoy writing and composing letters? Make a list of things you are good at or have an interest in. See what kind of jobs require these talents and develop them. Lastly, I want you to know my son and his girlfriend are in your situation and are expecting a baby. I am in Texas and they are in Alabama so I cannot physically help them. I am trying to teach them how to fend for themselves, to survive and think on their own. I hate to see them suffer but remember this: A baby chicken has to peck its way out of its shell for a reason. It has to build up the strength in its neck and chest muscles in order to breathe and get up after being in the fetal position. If it cannot breathe and has no strength, it will lay there and die. This is why the mother chicken does not help it break free of the shell. It needs strength in its muscles to survive. It is very difficult to get out of the shell, but this struggling is vital to its survival. I hope this has given you insight into how to help yourself. Be courageous and keep looking, learning and trying. Never give up. You will have a story to tell and others to teach when you succeed!
Diane, I totally agree. Alot of people have been in poverty, and had to get away out. There must be goal setting, and determination. I love and appreciate your story.
I totally understand what all you single mothers are going through. I know people seem to think there is “something” you can do, but without any support or help, even if its just advice, it just seems impossible. I’ve been there and done that. Believe me, if it weren’t for someone just being there at the right place and time I wouldn’t have made it…emotionally or financially. The best advice I can give is to join a church. It’s amazing what people will do who have Jesus in their hearts. Even if you meet someone to help you go through it all and help you keep your head up….it will help tremendously. And remember….you WILL MAKE IT! It may not be the way you wanted to or how you wanted to, but you will make it. Keep one foot in front of the other and tell your babies you love them EVERY DAY!
I am a 25 year old bi-racial mother. I have a six year old daughter. I am a full time college student and I work a part time job making $7.75 an hour with 20 hours a week. My paychecks are only 125.00 to 150.00 a week. I don’t have money to pay bills hardly, I am always having to prolong payments on my light bill and other utilities. I can barely afford things like tissue, soap, deodarant, and anything else in that nature. My daughter’s father is in prison for 5 years and he has about 3 more years to go. It’s getting harder and harder. I don’t have any help. It’s just my daughter and I. It’s about to be winter time and I don’t see how I’m gonna pay the bills now because they are going to get more expensive. Does anybody have or know of any resources that help single mothers? I need some kind of financial assistance!!! I am suffering from depression right now also.
Thanks to whomever reads this!!!
Hi,
You can receive state assistance
and you can also look into receiving Grants for Single Moms.
Hope this helps!
I’m a single mom of two and I’m working very hard, I just had to move and seprated from my youngests kids father for cheating on
me and I’m needing help with child care and I don’t know the
huntsville alabama area well and I need help please, and any
help will help, thank you
I am a single mother, with no income, of two little girls (ages four and one). I was kicked out of my home last night and was able to stay with a friend but just for last night and have to find somewhere else to go today. My youngest daughter is already sick and I cant have my babies out on the street. I need help finding a place for my children and me to stay and hopefully a place for us to live at for a while. Please email me back.
Hello,
I was simply curious if anybody knew of any scholarships/grants for college for young, single mothers. I have searched the web and have found close to nothing (other than filling out the FAFSA). I will get my 4 year degree in Math Education and teach high school, then eventually continuing to get my masters in math education. I am 19 years old with a little one on the way – does anybody know anything?
Thanks so much,
Tara Lynn
Tara,
FAFSA is a great start, other then that you can receive College Grants for Single Mothers.
Good luck!