• There are welfare services geared to help women and children.Young woman drinking water. Woman With Water Glass. image by Monika 3 Steps Ahead from Fotolia.com
  
  Welfare services have traditionally been geared to help women and children who are unable to finance the necessities of life including food and shelter. Programs such as SNAP (food stamps) now offer funds to all who apply including single women who are in need of assistance.
  
  

TANF

• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families is a program that provides temporary financial assistance for women and families who meet minimum requirements. To qualify for TANF you must be a U.S. citizen, children must be citizens or have eligible alien status, you must have a Social Security number, the family must make less that the monthly maximum income, children must be 18 years or younger or if over 18 children must be in college and projected to graduate by age 20. Families must have children to qualify. TANF has a maximum of 60 months of payout for qualifying families.
  
  

FNS SNAP

• Food and Nutrition Service Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program provides food for individuals and families who are unable to afford to pay for food based on their income and current assets. In order to qualify, there must be no more than $2,000 in countable resources including bank accounts and vehicles. If the household consists of or includes individuals over the age of 60, the countable resources must be less than $3,000. Income for a single person should not exceed $1,174 a month. SNAP assistance is available to all individuals who meet the minimum requirements at the time of application.
  
  

Medicaid

• Medicaid is available to low-income individuals and families for coverage of certain medical needs. Depending on the requirements of your state there might be a small deductible to be paid for services. The program is maintained and administered by state government and does not cover all poor persons. Income is only one portion of the decision process. If approved for benefits they may cover a retroactive period of three months of medical needs and treatments.