Families living on a low-income salary struggle to maintain minimum standards of living.  Affording the expenses of necessary items such as food, shelter, and water does not come easy.  With little income to live on, debts tend to increase and keeping one's head above water can seem like a daunting task. 

The U.S. government and many non-profit organizations offer financial assistance in an effort to help low-income families afford life’s necessities and work on building a better future for themselves and their family.  Federal and non-federal debt relief grants can help alleviate the financial burden and pull families out of their economic crisis.

Debt Relief Grants for Medical Bills

Health is a priority but the cost of healthcare can lead to many individuals, not just low-income, feeling as though they are drowning in debt.  Paying exorbitant hospital, medicine, doctor and lab test bills can leave monetarily crunched families in financial ruin.  There are thousands of grants disbursed to help needy families overcome their debts and meet their medical needs. The below provides a few places to start:

• Medicaid
• Medicare
• Federal Government Health Resources and service Administration (HRSA)
• United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
• Healthy Families Program
• Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
• Cancer Care Financial Assitance Program
• Dental Lifeline
• RX Assist

Debt Relief Grants for Utility and Energy Bills

For families living on a tight budget, constantly rising utility and energy bills can be tough to pay off.  The utility bills might claim a huge chunk of one’s income and lead to increasing debts and that can disrupt continued services. There are utility bill grants offered to alleviate the financial burden for families facing a shortage of funds:

• The Weaterization Assistance Program
• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Benefits.Gov
• Help With Bills
• Citizens Energy

Additional Debt Relief Options

Government financial assistance is also available for individuals struggling with debt related to housing and day to day expenses. Learn more about these additional financial relief programs.