Pennsylvania Assistance Programs

Get help and assistance in all cities and counties, including Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In addition to the state programs listed below, find organizations and charities in Pennsylvania that can provide you with assistance paying your bills, rent, and more.

Assistance Programs

Better Choice
A program created by the state Treasury Department and Pennsylvania Credit Union Association to help Pennsylvanians get away from payday lenders. It helps facilitate short term grants and loans from legitimate financial services. This aid program provides short term loans that are better options than payday lenders. Find additional short term loan options as well as ways to get out of debt.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), also known as Cash Assistance
The Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare is committed to helping low-income individuals and families that are living in Pennsylvania move to independence through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF will provide money and grants for dependent children and their relative or parents with whom they live, and for pregnant women if needed.

CHIP (Children's Health Insurance Plan) - Cover All Kids
CHIP is the state of Pennsylvania's health insurance plan that covers all uninsured kids. The "Cover All Kids" part of the program expands health insurance coverage to all children up to age 18 regardless of their family income, and no family earns too much to qualify for medical assistance.

PACE and PACENET
PACE and PACENET are two programs that are offered to seniors to help them pay for prescription medications.

Mortgage and Foreclosure Assistance
Pennsylvania also has numerous programs that will help families with paying their mortgage and also avoid foreclosure. More.

If you live in Philadelphia, the city also offers a foreclosure mediation program that can help a homeowner keep their home.

Parxpricefinder.com
A website where people in need for cheap prescription drugs in Pennsylvania can go to find the lowest prices for medicines in their area for prescription drugs. If a person types in his or her zip code, drug name, and the distance they are willing to drive, the site will find different pharmacies and retailers in the area that sell the drug at a cheap price and give the drug's price. Additional drug saving programs. Continue.

Military Family Relief Assistance Program
Provides services members and their families with grants of up to $2500. More.

Food Stamps
Food stamps and grants can be used to purchase food and also help lower income households in Pennsylvania obtain more nutritious diets by increasing their food purchasing power at supermarkets and grocery stores. If you do not have enough money to buy food for your family and yourself, you can receive aid.

Child Care Works
If you are one of the many that are concerned about the high cost of quality child care and need help, Child Care Works may be able to assist. Working parents may be eligible for assistance with paying child care expenses if they meet the income guidelines.

Legal Help Programs
Numerous non-profit law firms exist in Pennsylvania that provide state residents with free legal representation and advice. Read more.

Healthy Horizons Program
A program that helps the disabled and elderly pay for Medicare health insurance. The people who are in need of help can even have an income. This program is to supplement the insurance costs.

Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
Works with private insurance companies to provide free or discounted health insurance coverage to children up to age 19. There are no income limits, however participants will need to pay no or very low-cost monthly premiums based on their family income.

Homeless Assistance Program (HAP)
Are you or someone that you know in danger of being evicted from your home or apartment? Or maybe you have already lost your home or been evicted and are currently homeless and do not know where to go for help. The Pennsylvania Homeless Assistance Program (HAP) will help to assure that homelessness can be avoided, that anyone that is homeless can find needed refuge and care and that homeless and near homeless residents are assisted in moving toward self-sufficiency. Homeless assistance program services available include rental assistance, bridge housing, help paying rent, case management, and emergency shelter.

Discounted Telephone Bills
The Lifeline program can provide you with a discount of up to $14 on your monthly telephone bill, and the Link Up program will help pay for the installation of a phone, or assist with the purchase of cellular phone.

Medical Assistance (MA)
Also can be sometimes referred to as Medicaid, can provide payment for health care services or medical bills on behalf of eligible low-income individuals that have limited income and high medical expenses.

Assistance From Pennsylvania Cities and Counties

Allegheny County (Pittsburgh)

Beaver County

Bedford County

Berks County (Reading)

Blair County (Hollidaysburg)

Bradford County (Towanda)

Bucks County (Doylestown)

Butler County

Centre County (Bellefonte)

Chester County (West Chester)

Clearfield County

Cumberland County (Carlisle)

Dauphin County (Harrisburg)

Delaware County (Media)

Erie County

Fayette County (Uniontown)

Franklin County (Chambersburg)

Indiana County

Lackawanna County (Scranton)

Lancaster County

Lawrence County (New Castle)

Lebanon County

Lehigh County (Allentown)

Luzerne County (Wilkes-Barre)

Lycoming County (Williamsport)

Mercer County

Monroe County (Stroudsburg)

Montgomery County (Norristown)

Northampton County (Easton)

Philadelphia County

Pike County (Milford)

Pittsburgh

Reading County (Reading)

Somerset County

Snyder County (Middleburg)

Washington County

Westmoreland County (Greensburg)

York County

Assistance With Paying Utility and Heating Bills in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Dollar Energy Fund Helps with Utility Bills
This is the state of Pennsylvania largest hardship fund. It is providing grants to help residents pay for utility and heating bills, and the hardship program is expected to provide assistance to more then 10,000 low-income Pennsylvania families. Click here.

Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA)
PHFA’s Renovate & Repair program was designed to help Pennsylvania homeowners that have low to moderate income improve their homes. Not only does a low interest rate R&R loan provide homeowners with an attractive repayment schedule, it also provides the homeowner with help determining which repairs and/or improvements to be made. In this regard, this assistance program provides much more than a loan to people – it also provides peace of mind in knowing that the right home repairs are done, that they were completed in a timely manner with high quality workmanship. The program can be used to finance energy efficiency improvements, (which will help save on heating bills), the repair or replacement of a cooling or heating, new windows, roof repair or replacement, and much more.

Weatherization Programs
This federally funded program will update and modernize homes of low income families, with the goal of reducing the amount of energy their home uses. All improvements are free to the homeowner. Recipients of the program can save hundreds of dollars per year on their energy bills. Continue.

Low-income Rate Assistance
Pennsylvania’s electric and gas utilities are required by law to provide Customer Assistance Programs (CAPs), which generally provide a percentage of bill plan or a plan based upon percentage of income payment plan. these plans wherein low-income customers’ utility bill payments are based upon their incomes and/or amount of utility bills. Some assistance programs include utility arrearage forgiveness; while others provide flat rate discounts or even bill credits.

Pennsylvania Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
This program will help lower income residents with paying their heating bills through crisis grants and home heating energy grants. You do not need to have an unpaid bill to receive home heating energy assistance. You can receive this assistance money and you do not need to be in the Cash Assistance program. Read more.

Low-Income Usage Reduction Program (LIURP)
The LIURP assistance program includes an education component that will help address energy saving methods, regular bill payment behavior and it will also provides application assistance and help with some fees.

$1 Energy Fund
The One Dollar Energy Fund works to help lower income Pennsylvania families and seniors on fixed incomes afford safe utility supplies and help with paying utility and heating bills.

Crisis Grants
This is additional money may be available for paying bills if you need it due to an emergency situation and are in jeopardy of losing your heat. Emergency situations can include:

• Termination of utility service
• Broken heating equipment or leaking heating lines that must be replaced or fixed
• Lack of fuel
• Danger of being without some type of fuel or of having your utility service terminated

Citizens Energy Heating Oil Aid Program
Citizens Energy, working both fuel oil dealers and fuel assistance agencies across Pennsylvania, provides assistance to tens of thousands with free heating oil. This year, this assistance program helped tens of thousands of families with a one-time delivery of 100 gallons of free home heating oil, and also low cost oil if needed.

Pennsylvania expands assistance programs. News.