Getting Help for Your Family
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Many families across the state of Illinois will, at some point, experience financial difficulties. There are a number of resources available in Illinois that can help provide your family with the basic essentials to get by. There should be no shame in reaching out and asking for help when it is needed. As a parent you know that your most important job is to make sure that your family is fed, clothed, housed, educated, and loved. Below is a list of links that can be of service to your family if you are experiencing financial difficulties.
- Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly known as food stamps
- Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), cash assistance for financially distressed families
- Medical Assistance Programs (Medicaid)
- Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), provides food for infants, young children, pregnant women, and new mothers
- Emergency Food Program
- Emergency and Transitional Housing
- Lifeline and Link-Up Telephone Assistance Programs
- Housing Assistance Programs
- Family Planning Assistance
- Child Care Assistance Program
- Illinois Head Start Program
- Violence and Abuse Prevention
- LIHEAP, Heating and Energy Assistance
- Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program
- Listing of Illinois Food Bank
There may also be a number of other resources located locally for your family to benefit from. Try contacting local churches or community action agencies to find information about food giveaways for the holidays, toys for tots programs, school supply assistance, and clothing, coat, and shoe giveaway programs. Try visiting the Illinois Association of Community Action Agencies website to see a listing of the community action agencies that service each county in the state of Illinois. These agencies can be a great resource in regards to heating assistance, education programs, weatherization, and many other programs.
Success In School
Students from disadvantaged homes often do not do as well in school as their wealthier classmates. There are a number of reasons for this, but as a parent there are steps you can take to help your child do well in school, regardless of your income.
- Sign your young children up for the Dolly Parton Imagination Library. Membership is limited to certain areas of the state where local agencies have sponsored the program. Parents can sign up their child, and then they will receive an age appropriate book in the mail, free of charge, each month.
- Get a library card and use it! The local library can provide a wide variety of books and movies for your family to check out and enjoy together. Young children may enjoy story times, and older children can gain great benefit from summer reading programs. Children who read at home do significantly better in school than non-readers, so do your best to make time for it.
- Make sure that your children have the proper supplies for school. School supply shopping is expensive, especially if you have several children in school at once. Watch the newspaper and ask around at churches and local community agencies to see if there are school supply drives going on that can help your family out. If all else fails, contact your child's teacher and let him or her know of the situation. There might be a program at the school to help out families in need, or the teacher may have extra supplies left over from a previous year to loan your child.
- Reduce stress in the home as much as possible. Raising a family on a limited income is very stressful for parents. What you may not realize is that children pick up on the stress level in the home and it can affect their performance in school. Try not to discuss money matters in front of the children, and keep them busy with free, fun activities as much as possible. An afternoon at the park, or a night playing board games can take your mind off of financial worries, and will help your child find a sense of normalcy.
- Participate in the free and reduced lunch program. Sign up for these programs is easy, just contact the school office for more information. In most cases, if you qualify for free or reduced lunch you can also receive a waiver for school registration fees as well. If you are in the free lunch program and your child's school serves breakfast, then you can also encourage your child to enjoy a nice breakfast at school before classes start also. This will reduce the stress of preparing and serving breakfast in the morning, and will save money in the food budget.
- Stay in constant contact with your child's teacher. If there are projects coming up that will require you to buy supplies, or field trips that will require a fee, ask your child's teacher to let you know as soon as possible so that you can put money aside for these activities.
- Students who are active and involved in sports and other extracurricular activities may do better in school and feel like they fit in with their peers. Many sports leagues offer "scholarships" for families who cannot pay the fees associated with registration. Sporting gear can be picked up at reasonable prices at thrift stores, garage sales, and resale shops. Encourage your older kids to join clubs at school, and put forth your best effort to support them in their activities.
- Talk to your older kids about college. Many kids will automatically assume that if they are from a low income family, that they cannot go to college, so there is no sense in doing well in high school. There are many, many options for low income students to attend college, including scholarships, loans, work study programs, military service, and grants. Visit the Illinois Student Assistance Commission's website to get more information about financial aid programs available in Illinois.
Family Fun on a Budget
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Fun family activities are great for the whole family. Having fun together reduces stress, encourages imagination and activity, and brings a sense of stability and normalcy to a family in financial distress. Here are some fun suggestions to keep the whole family active, healthy, and happy!
- Go on a hike
- Plant a garden
- Have a movie night with popcorn
- Go to the library
- Play basketball or kickball
- Check museum websites for free admission days
- Visit the zoo
- Check local movie theaters for special kids movie days. Many will have $1 shows during the summer.
- Bake a cake or cookies and share with your neighbors
- Do craft projects
- Visit a farm
- Make forts in the living room
- Have a family sleepover in the living room
- Play board or card games
- Read books together
- Go for a walk and look for bugs and leaves
- Make a leaf pile in the fall
- Catch lightning bugs in the summer
- Make homemade decorations and decorate the house for a family member's birthday.
- Make cards and write letters to send to family and friends
- Volunteer a day at an animal shelter
- Play in a sprinkler, have a water balloon fight
- Play tag
- Visit the public pool or spray park
- Make homemade play dough
- Have a scavenger hunt
- Play at the park
- Go to garage sales
- Make birdfeeders
- Have your own family photo shoot wearing fun outfits
- Go cloud or people watching
- Fly a kite
- Put on a puppet show
- Decorate the sidewalk with chalk
- Have a make your own pizza night
- Go on a picnic
- Blow bubbles
- Write a story; Make a book
- Go to a free concert- many park districts have these during the summer
- Put on a play