Finding help can sometimes be a challenging task.  We have outlined a few organizations that can help put you back on track.  Even if you made a good income last year and need help this year, you can find the help that you need.  DON'T TAKE NO FOR AN ANSWER AND DON'T GIVE UP. 

Free Thanksgiving Dinner

for all who are in need from the Bierstube!!!

See below or click links for the following Valuable Resources:

United Way and 2-1-1  FREE TAX PREPARATION

The Beehive - great directory for money, health, jobs, school and family
Twin Cities Free Market - free stuff in your own community

Hunger Solutions
Angel Food Ministries

Open Arms of MN
TwincitiesToolbox.com

Pocket Your Dollars   - NEW - ADDED 9-9-09

Habitat for Humanity and Restore Store
Toys for Tots 

Click links for

Washington County Resources / FULL LISTING of Resources

Ramsey County Resources

Listings of Shelters and Transitional Shelters

Bridge to Benefits

http://www.coveringallfamilies.org

Covering All Families is now Bridge to Benefits!

To see if you or someone else may be eligible for public work support programs, click START to use the Eligibility Screening Tool. We will ask you a few simple questions but we will NOT ask you for information that identifies you. It's easy, confidential and free!

What is Bridge to Benefits?
Bridge to Benefits is a multi-state project by Children’s Defense Fund Minnesota to improve the well-being of low-income families and individuals by linking them to public work support programs and tax credits. A core component of the project is an online screening tool designed to help families and individuals understand if they are eligible for seven public work support programs and two income tax credits. Work support programs and tax credits were implemented by federal and state governments to help low-income workers meet basic needs. Yet, in Minnesota, thousands of eligible families are not participating in these programs or claiming the tax credits that could provide increased economic stability for their families.

Please help us tell others about this website by downloading a Bridge to Benefits brochure.

MN Housing Finance Agency:
http://www.mnhousing.gov/consumers/home-owners/foreclosure/index.aspx

Foreclosure Prevention

Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Program (FPAP)
The Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Program assists Minnesotans facing foreclosure due to a temporary financial crisis by providing case management services and, if applicable, mortgage payment, or other financial assistance on a one time basis. The program is delivered through community-based nonprofit organizations statewide.

Don't Borrow Trouble
The DON'T BORROW TROUBLE Minnesota Campaign is a public education initiative aimed at stopping predatory lending practices in the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The Campaign seeks to educate families and individuals about how to avoid predatory lending scams and about available community resources. The DON'T BORROW TROUBLE help line has been established at 612-312-2020 to offer families a safe place to call before they sign anything that puts their home at risk.

Contact

For more specific Foreclosure Prevention information, call the Home Ownership Center at 651-659-9336 or 888-HOC-MINN. Or visit their website at www.hocmn.org to find an organization offering foreclosure prevention assistance near you.

For general information about the Foreclosure Prevention Assistance Program, call the Minnesota Housing Consumer Information Line at
651-296-8215 or 1-800-710-8871.

You may also contact HOME Line at (612) 728-5767 or (866) 866-3546.  HOME Line provides free legal, organizing, education and advocacy services so that tenants throughout Minnesota can solve their own rental housing problems.

Energy Assistance Program (EAP)

1. What is the Energy Assistance Program (EAP)?
The Energy Assistance Program helps people with lower incomes to pay their heating/energy bills during the fall, winter and spring months. EAP agencies around the state take applications for the program and decide how much help each household can get to pay their heating bills.

The Energy Assistance Program is administered by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.

2. Who can get help from the Energy Assistance Program?
EAP is available to many households with lower incomes, including homeowners and renters. Renters can get help if they pay for their heat separate from their rent, or if their heat is included in their rent, but they pay for electricity separately. Your household’s income has to be below the limits to get help.

3. How do I find out who my Energy Assistance Program agency is?
There is an Energy Assistance Program agency that serves every county in Minnesota. Usually, it is your local Community Action Agency. Sometimes it is your county human services office. To find the EAP agency for your county, click here.

4. How does the Energy Assistance Program work?
When you get accepted for EAP, you will get a letter that says how much EAP money you will get to help with your energy costs. This is called your grant. For most people, your grant will be divided by 4 to cover part of your energy costs for 4 months. For 4 months in a row, your EAP agency will pay part of your bill directly to the gas or electric utility company that provides you heat. If you want, you can have your EAP agency send 1/3 of your EAP money to your electric company and send the rest to your heating company. If you get your fuel delivered (such as propane or oil), your grant will not be divided into 4 parts—it will be paid all at once (a lump sum). No matter how much help you get from EAP, you still have to pay the rest of your energy bill every month.

5. How much will the Energy Assistance Program pay?
It depends on how many people live in your household, their income, the type of fuel you use, and how much fuel you use. Those families with the lowest incomes and the highest cost for energy will get the most help paying their bills. You will get between $100 to $1200 of help. Most families get between $300-$400 (once a year).

6. How do I get an application for Energy Assistance?
The application is called the “Minnesota Energy Programs Application." It is available in English, Hmong, Russian, Somali, Spanish, Vietnamese, Braille and large print. You can pick one up from your EAP agency or have it mailed to you. If you got help from the EAP last year, you will probably get an application mailed to you automatically. You can also get an application on this website by clicking here.

However, applications are NOT accepted from June 1 to September 30. In addition, a new application is issued each year and it is not available until September of that year.

MinnesotaCare

MinnesotaCare is a health insurance program for Minnesotans with lower incomes who cannot get affordable insurance through their job or somewhere else. Children, families, pregnant women, and adults without children can all get MinnesotaCare. It is not a free program. People who get MinnesotaCare pay a reduced-cost premium every month. The amount you pay depends on the number of people in your family, the number of people who are getting health insurance (coverage) and your income. You have to live in Minnesota and have a Social Security Number to get MinnesotaCare. You also have to have income and assets below the limits. Click here to learn more about MinnesotaCare.

Who can get MinnesotaCare?
Children, families, pregnant women, and adults without children can all get MinnesotaCare. You have to live in Minnesota and have a Social Security Number. You also have to have income and assets below the limits. You cannot get MinnesotaCare if you have had health insurance during the last four months unless the insurance was Medical Assistance. (After four months without insurance, then you could get MinnesotaCare). You cannot get MinnesotaCare if your job offers insurance and your employer pays 50% or more of the premium (amount due every month). But some children can get MinnesotaCare even if they have had insurance in the past 4 months or if their parent’s employer offers insurance. Also, if your employer pays 50% or more of your premium, but not 50% or more of the premium for your spouse or children, then they can get MinnesotaCare, but you cannot.

Minnesota Health Care Programs
MinnesotaCare, Medical Assistance and General Assistance Medical Care all use the same application. Once you have completed the application, you can mail it or deliver it by hand to your county's or tribe's human services office.
If you don't know the address of your county human services office, you can call 651-431-2670 (Twin Cities) or 1-800-657-3739 (Greater MN).

Hill-Burton Free and Reduced Cost Health Care - help with medical bills

Eligibility for Hill-Burton free or reduced cost care is based on a person's family size and income. Income is calculated based on your actual income for the last 12 months or your last 3 month's income times 4, whichever is less.
You may qualify if your income falls within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services poverty guidelines or, at some facilities, if your income is as much as twice (or triple for nursing home services) the poverty guidelines.
For complete information on the Hill-Burton program, including the list of facilities obligated to provide it and a link to the poverty guidelines, please see the Hill-Burton Web site.

United Way 2-1-1

Times are tough. If you or someone you know needs help, just dial 2-1-1. 

It's free, confidential and available 24/7.
Cell phone users can call 651-291-0211.
Toll free: 1-800-543-7709.

Trained information specialists and volunteers can connect you to over 40,000 community resources including:

Multilingual lines available 24 hours a day.
For Russian services call: 651-698-9167

Visit the online version at United Way 2-1-1 / Twin Cities Beehive.

Free Tax Preparation Click here for a list of free tax preparation sites or call United Way 2-1-1 by dialing 2-1-1 (651-291-0211 for cell phone users).

We created the Beehive to be the place to go for information and resources around the things that matter in our lives: money, health, jobs, school and family. And, we'd like you to have a little fun while you're here so, we're throwing in some games and quizzes to keep it interesting.

We can make the Beehive (and keep adding new things all the time) because of our supporters, who include AOL Time Warner, Cisco Systems and many, many others. 

Click here for the full list of our supporters .

Who makes the Beehive? 
The Beehive is the pride and joy of the One Economy Corporation. One Economy is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C. 

The Beehive is just part of what One Economy does. We also work with owners and developers of affordable housing across the country. We help them connect people to computers and the Internet.

The way we see it, when people have access to the Internet and can connect to good resources like the Beehive, they have the power to change their lives.

Click here to visit our corporate website and learn more about One Economy Corporation

User Picks:

Twin Cities Free Market

The Free Market is a listing service for residents who want to give or get free reusable goods for the home, garage and garden. It is part of an effort to reduce the amount of reusable goods being thrown in the trash.   http://www.twincitiesfreemarket.org/

Hunger Solutions