How do I get grants after a fire at my house?
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
I had a fire in my home Dec 1st in PA. I lost everything. I am single, all alone and on disability. Can't afford to rebuild. Can I get any help? I am reaching out as the house was not insured. Please help. Is there any assistance available?
By Robin S.
It depends on what type of help you are requesting. I don't know of any organization that will rebuild a house. There is Habitat for Humanity, but you have to meet certain requirements, and just because you apply doesn't mean you will be accepted and if you are accepted there is usually a quite a waiting list before your name comes up to have the house built.
If you are planning on moving into an apartment, which is what I would do, you can go to the office of a nearby Salvation Army and ask for a voucher for free furniture and the furniture you need has to be the necessities, usually they don't consider things like a computer or TVs necessities. Most of the time for things like that you have to provide transportation to pick the items up. Also anybody that owns a home should have home owners insurance.
This same thing happened to a girl friend years ago but it was her young daughter that was disabled. They too lost everything including their miniature poodle [poor thing] it didn't make it out of the house. They went to the county they lived in and the Salvation Army for help.
Call your social worker and let them know what has happened to you. Perhaps the YWCA could answer some of your questions also. Your in my thoughts and prayers at this most difficult time.
You could check out craigslist.org in your area and click on FREE category from the list. Browse to find anything you might need that someone wants to part with. Some have photos of the item.
Craigslist is also a good place to find used furnishings and you are given the option of whether you want to look at owner or business. Also, key in your town and state to see what is closest to you. Good luck Robin.
My home burned down and I have no place to go. I was wondering how do I get help?
I need help my house burned down and everything I own need help getting into a place can I get help
Where do I go to get help? My house burned down and everything in it and I'm living couch to couch and can't find no one to help me.
I can't afford to pay to get into a place. I need help.I am looking for some help, supplies, workers, or even funds to help my sister and her husband. They purchased a home here in Muncie, Indiana and then went back to Florida to begin the moving process. In the meantime, lightning struck their Muncie home before they could purchase insurance.
Now they are left trying to repair this home. Can you direct me to or know of community organizations that could help them?Red Cross helped each individual $500 for fire (from a fellow family member who lived in Indiana).
You can check with the government + organizations for Indiana - www.in.gov/
FEMA encourages fire victims to register for assistance. They have many programs there and offer all types of help. You can find out more here:
Where can we receive assistance? We're being torn out of the motel at 11 today. My wife is 71 years old, disabled, and in bad health and we have two dogs. No one will help.
Help please.
This is so very sad. You can try to contact a social worker and see if they can put you in some low-income housing for the moment. I am sorry the hotel is throwing you out on the street. You need to get some help from people around and the best way to do this is through the news media. Right now the holidays are almost here and people have a kind and giving heart this time of year.
You have probably already used all of the assistance your local Red Cross can offer -
Did the Red Cross set you up in the hotel? If so they probably told you how many days they would pay for the room and that you would have to seek housing somewhere before that time was up.
I'm sorry you are having these problems but you will have to seek help in your own area as all anyone here can do is to provide suggestions to help you find assistance.
I would suggest you go to your local Salvation Army and ask for their help. They may not be able to accommodate you with housing but they may be able to direct you to someone local that can help.
You may have to go to your local HUD office and fill out paperwork to apply for a place to live. Your name may have to be placed on a list (and it may be a long waiting list) but sometimes they can find temporary lodging until your name reaches the top. Do not be surprised if they are not willing to accommodate your dogs.
If all of the suggestions offered fall through you can try and make an appointment with your councilman and maybe they will be willing to hear your story and find someone to help you.
You can locate your Salvation Army, Family Services, HUD and your councilman on Google with the agency's name and your zip code.
Prayers for solutions. I hope you get answers.
Do you have homeless shelters in your area that care for families? Some have temporary accommodations for family with pets, but that would be for short term needs.
Other posters have given you good suggestions.
What I can add is that if you are on Medicare insurance, you can try to call the number on the back of the card and ask to speak to the social work department see if they can link you to services in your community who may be able to find you temporary living and care for your wife (depending on the disability this could include placement in a nursing facility at least for a short time).
Also since you have pets, contact your local animal shelters and see if they have services to help point you to places that would accept pets.
Post back with an update. Prayers!
Had a house fire, have now ran out of money The landlord is not finding a place for us; me, my husband, 2 dogs and 1 child. Please, we need help. What can we do? We ran out of money. It's been 5 months since the fire. Nowhere to go, going to be homeless in this heat.
We are in Arizona. We got help from the Red Cross. That was money, we got $600 thanks to them but we have been living in a motel waiting for a place. The landlord said he will try but he's been lying to us. Feels like we have nowhere to run. We lost everything in the house fire. It was caused by faulty wiring.
I am a single male, aged 35 with a small dog. I lost my mobile home to a fire. I had no insurance and lost everything. I also just lost my job.
Red Cross would be one 1-800-HELP NOW (1-800-435-7669).
Local churches should help.
A dear friend of mine had her house burn down. She has 5 children all very young and no money to speak of. Is there somewhere for her to get any help?
The Red Cross is there to help after a house fire. You can go there to find shelter for the night and they will give you some vouchers to buy some clothes. I know they do not offer a lot but they do get you started. After this you will need to check on Criagslist in the free sections to find household items. You can also get help from Facebook and a few local orginatizations in your area. If you belong to a church many times people are willing to help or you can go to Freecycle and post your needs there.
You have a good heart to help your friend. It is going to be a long road to recovery and they will need ongoing support.
My best suggestion is to start a Go Fund Me campaign AND open a special donation account at your local bank--she will have to go with you to do that as they will need her Social Security number. The account (in most cases) the account will not gain interest which could affect her taxes). Usually they don't charge a fee to set up the account.
Have her talk to her tax person BEFORE you do this so you can be sure not to screw up her taxes by doing this--this is the sad downside of trying to help someone--sometimes the tax structure will be an issue and the money will end up being taxed--so get that taken care of first...then...
For the Go Fund Me--Be sure to include lots of photos of the family, the site of the fire, and link news stores so people know this is a legit request. That is probably the most important thing--there have been so many scams like this that you have to show the news story to get people to care.
Once you get the Go Fund Me and the donation account set up, you will have to make it go viral on all of your (and their) social media accounts.
Be sure to tell people there are two ways to donate--older folks tend to prefer to take a check to the bank to help out, while younger folks will use Go Fund Me. Go Fund Me takes a fee for the service which a lot of people don't know...so if someone donates 100. Your friend will get a percentage of that. That is why the bank donation account is so important--they will get 100% of that money--no fees (at least where I am it was a fee free process).
Your friend will have to link the bank account to the Go Fund Me so she can get the Go Fund me Money--you do this as soon as the first donation is received. This is a critical step in the process.
Repost the social media pleas at least once a week until you reach your goal.
Also, go around to your local churches/synagogues/mosques and ask if you can post the information about the two campaigns in their bulletin. Some will, some won't but it will make them aware of the situation. Ask if they will hold a fund raiser to help the family--like a bake sale or flea market--some will, some won't.
Also, talk to the school where the children go and see if they can help--at least post the info so people know there are ways to help.
The last suggestion is to make up business cards (you can get the card stock at local office supply places). You type the info up about the Go FUnd me--give the exact link AND how to donate at the bank.
You do this in Microsoft Word using the template number from the box (you may have to download the template like if it comes from Avery or that other brand, which escapes me now) but that is free to do that.
Then pass the cards out to everyone you know.
People can be very generous so hopefully this will work for you. I have first hand knowledge that this process works.
Prayers and blessings for your friend.
I recently was the victim of an arson attempt and I am wanting to move to another home for my safety, there is minor heat damage done to the back wall of our home and we completely lost a mobile home on this property as well. My question is, are there places were I can get a grant or a low interest loan for a down payment to get into another home?
I was under the impression that the person I was buying this home from had it insured, but have since found that was not to be the case. Both my son and I are disabled and we need to move soon.
There are numerous places to apply but they all require someone to complete a lot of forms beginning with qualifying.
You can apply to several as one may be able to help while another may not have any available funds.
HUD may be able to put you on a list for subsidized housing which would be like rental but on a scale that matches your income.
Habitat for Humanity has programs that help people buy a home but they do require someone to have an income (job or other income) as there are monthly house payments but are lower than most mortgages.
I have some links that you can check out to see if you are interested in asking for their help.
www.needhelppayingbills.com/
If you need immediate help after a fire the Red Corss is a great place to go. When you buy a home from a person it is not up to them to insure the home after it has been sold. On the other hand if they are hodling the deed to the property they must have insurance on the home if you do not put the insurance on the home yourself.
Getting a loan for a disable person is not as difficult as many think it is. Here is a great site that will help you out and explain how it works. themortgagereports.com/
I need help. My house burned down. And I don't know what to do. I have no family that can help.
Contact Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Social Services, Churches, ask neighbors for help!
Questions:
Did you own the house? If you own the house did you have insurance?
If so you should contact your insurance company first - they can also help with finding help for you.
If you were renting then did the Red Cross send someone to help you after the fire? The fire department generally contacts Red Cross.
Did the Red Cross assist you with a place to live and temporary funds?
If not then you should contact them first.
The Salvation Army will generally help with replacing certain items and they also have temporary living spaces (generally male only) for a few days.
They may offer different services in different cities.
You should contact Family Services in your city (Google with your zip code) as they generally have a list of agencies that help people in need. They will help you get emergency food stamps and maybe some cash as well.
You can also go to office of any church (most will start opening their doors again soon) and tell them your story. You do not have to be a member of the church to ask for help.
If clothing is what you need then you can visit any charity thrift store (some are opening up now) and they will provide one or two sets of clothing and shoes.
You will have to make arrangements to do these things for yourself as no one will be able to do them for you.
Can I get help if me and my baby were living at a house that got burned down with our things in it if our name isn't on the lease?
By seiricka seawright from Montgomery, AL
Did the Red Cross step in with help. I used to work in a Red Cross office in SD and when people would lose everything in a fire, if they didn't have a place to go immediately we put them up in a motel for a short period of time, they also got vouchers for(if I remember right) two complete sets of clothes and a pair of shoes, depending on the weather vouchers for winter outdoor wear, and when they found a place of their own to live they could get vouchers for bedding and towels. This help was given for each member of a family. Call them and see what they say if they haven't already contacted the home owner. I don't know how it works when your name wasn't on the lease, from different things I have heard it isn't legal to live in a place if your name isn't on the lease or without the landlord's permission. But do check with the Red Cross.
My sister-in-law was a victim of a house fire the other day. She lost everything. Unfortunately the house did not have insurance, so what are their other options for help as far as clothes, etc.?
They literally lost everything.it must be a terrible feeling to see everything you own just disappear but still, you have to be thankful that everyone is okay health wise.
Last summer right after my husband had a severe stroke, our house (36 foot camper) burned down due to a faulty brand new generator that caught fire. We began litigations, lawyer said because my husband followed all their safety instructions, it was a sure thing...until the fire and electrical experts couldn't come to an agreement so we couldn't go to court.
We've been living in our UHaul box truck because we literally lost every single thing. All our savings, valuables, etc, EVERTHING we worked our whole lives for. Red Cross immediately gave us about $500. Since then I've applied to FEMA but it they won't help because it was not a "declared disaster" I keep trying these grant sites but they are all bs. They just keep me going around in circles.
Are there any real programs that will actually help us get back on our feet or at least one foot to start? I'm not looking to get rich I just would like to receive enough to have the very basic human necessities. I don't want to get into major debt by applying for a loan I can't pay for but it's looking like my only option. I've even created a page on fundly but it's to no avail.
How can I get help after a house fire with no insurance?
You say "help after a house fire with no insurance". Does that mean you need help with personal items, a place to stay or are you referring to help with rebuilding your house?
I need emergency help from my house being set a fire. It's been two months and I still haven't received no real help, just clothing from the community mostly things I can't fit but appreciate it.
I have called around, no one have any funds here. Can someone tell me what to do or where I can really receive help?So yesterday on Thanksgiving, the house I was living in with a friends caught fire and is a complete total loss. Everything I had was there. I didn't own the house, my friend did. What do I do from here to get help with basic necessities and such?
My friend has a lot going on I don't want to ask him. He just lost his home. He was letting me stay there to get out of an DV situation.
The place where I was staying in Clark county in Washington had a house fire, and now I am temporarily housed in a luxury hotel. I am looking for a grant to rent this apartment with advance rent/deposits too.
Does anyone know of any grants that are available for this need?
