Low Income Resources in Greenville, South Carolina

While there is a popular image of the welfare family that simply chooses not to work, that image is quickly dispelled for individuals who find themselves in a short-term situation with simply zero personal resources or are permanently unable to provide enough income to support their family. With the continuing recession and individuals running out of unemployment insurance, the true story of the working poor is coming out all over the country. Thankfully, nearly every community has charitable organizations to lend those in need a hand up. Here are some of the many low income resources in Greenville, South Carolina.

Health Care

Without medical insurance, preventative medical care and non-essential prescriptions are the first thing on the chopping block for many households. As a result, mild to severe symptoms often go ignored until they become a serious illness requiring emergency care. Thankfully, the Greenville Free Medical Clinic is available for medical care of those who would otherwise either go without or go into serious debt. Each year, the Greenville Free Medical Clinic treats over 3000 patients and fills around 40,000 prescriptions. Unlike many free clinics, this low income resource offers dental care as well in cases of emergency or infection.

Food

There is no reason for someone in need to go hungry. Food assistance can be found at Greenville's Department of Social Services in the form of food stamps and a referral to the Salvation Army for emergency groceries. The Community Food Bank of the Upstate has been lending Greenville citizens a hand since 1982. Other low income resources for food in Greenville include food pantries and soup kitchen, and a list of these is provided by sciway.net.

Rent and Utilities

A situation can rapidly deteriorate from bad to worse when a household starts loosing utilities. Many low income individuals are unaware that there is often short-term assistance available to keep a home from reaching primitive conditions. Some of the low income resources for help with basic utilities in Greenville include AID Upstate, Greer Relief and Resources, Golden Strip Emergency Relief and Resources, Helping Hands of Woodruff and United Ministries. Contact information for these low income resources can be found here. For short-term assistance with rent payments, the same low income resources listed above can often provide assistance.

Sources: http://www.greenvillesc.gov/neighborhoods/Housing%20Resource%20Guide.pdfhttp://inglis.house.gov/issues.asp?content=sections/issues/current/health_care/greenville_free_clinic
http://dss.sc.gov/http://www.upstatescfoodbank.org/
http://www.sciway.net/org/greenville-sc-homeless.html