Low-Income Resources in Tennessee
Welcome to Money Fit’s Low-income resource list. There are different options organized into four categories: Food, Housing/Utilities, Child/Family Care, and Healthcare. Each resource has a brief description as well as contact information like a phone number and website URL.
We also provided an application for our Debt Management Program. If you’re struggling with debt, our nonprofit organization can provide the help you need to overcome financial burdens.
Use the following resources to determine if you qualify to receive financial assistance from a variety of programs.
How You Can Benefit From a Debt Management Program
While many consumers define debt management differently, we can all agree that getting out of excessive consumer debt leads to greater stability, less stress, and improved chances for long-term financial success.
Debt relief, debt counseling, debt consolidation, debt negotiations, debt elimination, and debt management all seem to mean the same thing: get rid of debt. However, they can vary widely in their meaning and method. Often, unscrupulous online actors identify themselves by one term but lead their unsuspecting clients down a completely different, and often financially disastrous, path.
If you are looking for a program that helps you repay 100% of your debts at more favorable terms, then look no further than Money Fit’s Debt Management Program.
Food Resources
Food Stamp Program
The Food Stamp program provides nutritional assistance benefits to children and families, the elderly, the disabled, the unemployed, and working families. Benefits are 100 percent federally funded
Address: Department of Human Services 400 Deaderick Street, 15th Floor Nashville, TN 37243-1403
Phone: 1-866-311-4287
Website: click here
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
SNAP provides nutrition benefits to supplement the food budget of needy families so they can purchase healthy food and move towards self-sufficiency.
Housing and Utilities
Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) is 100% federally-funded through a grant from the Federal Department of Health and Human Services. LIHEAP provides funds to the states to help meet the utility costs of low-income eligible elderly and disabled adults.
Address: Department of Human Services 400 Deaderick Street, 15th Floor Nashville, TN 37243-1403
Phone: 1-615-815-2030
Website: click here
Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) helps keep families safe and healthy through initiatives that assist families with energy costs.
Child and Family Care
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
TANF benefits are figured based on individual state guidelines and dependent on factors such as family size, earned and unearned income, and housing expenses.
Address: Commissioner’s Office 400 Deaderick Street, 15th Floor Nashville, TN 37243-1403
Phone: 1-615-313-4700 | 1-866-311-4287
Website: click here
Child Care Resource & Referral Service
The CCR&R provides free training and technical assistance to childcare providers across the state to improve the quality of child care for all children.
Address: 109 N Germantown Road Chattanooga, TN 37411
Phone: 1-423-698-8528
Website: click here
DHS Child Support
DHS offers numerous services to parents or legal guardians trying to obtain financial and medical support for their child or children. Our child support staff can help you locate a missing parent, establish paternity, obtain or modify court orders and enforce those orders.
Address: Tennessee Department of Human Services 400 Deaderick Street Citizens Plaza Nashville, TN 37243
Phone: 1-800-838-6911 | 1-615-313-4700
Website: click here
JOBS4TN ONLINE
Tennessee job seekers and employers now have a more powerful tool for searching for jobs and job candidates, the result of an upgrade to the Jobs4TN.gov website
Address: Department of Labor and Workforce Development 220 French Landing Drive Nashville, Tennessee 37243
Phone: 1-615-741-6642
Website: click here
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
WIC is a federally funded nutrition program for Women, Infants, and Children that helps families by providing financial assistance to purchase healthy supplemental foods from WIC-authorized vendors.
WIC also provides nutrition education, breastfeeding information, and support as well as assists in finding healthcare and other community services.
The Head Start Program
Head Start programs support children’s growth and development in a positive learning environment through a variety of services, which include
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Early learning: Children’s readiness for school and beyond is fostered through individualized learning experiences. Through relationships with adults, play, and planned and spontaneous instruction, children grow in many aspects of development. Children progress in social skills and emotional well-being, along with language and literacy learning, and concept development
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Health: Each child’s perceptual, motor, and physical development is supported to permit them to fully explore and function in their environment. All children receive health and development screenings, nutritious meals, oral health, and mental health support. Programs connect families with medical, dental, and mental health services to ensure that children are receiving the services they need.
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Family well-being: Parents and families are supported in achieving their own goals, such as housing stability, continued education, and financial security. Programs support and strengthen parent-child relationships and engage families around children’s learning and development.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program provides grant funds to states and territories to provide families with financial assistance and related support services. State-administered programs may include childcare assistance, job preparation, and work assistance.
Healthcare Resources
Community Tennessee Rehabilitation Center
The state’s only residential comprehensive rehabilitation facility. Programs offer vocational evaluations, physical rehabilitation services, traumatic brain injury services, services for visually impaired, occupational training skills, adaptive living skills, and support services in medical and therapy treatments.
Address: 460 Ninth Ave Smyrna, TN 37167
Phone: 1-615-459-6811
Website: click here
Medicaid
Authorized by Title XIX of the Social Security Act, Medicaid was signed into law in 1965 alongside Medicare. All states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. territories have Medicaid programs designed to provide health coverage for low-income people. Although the Federal government establishes certain parameters for all states to follow, each state administers its Medicaid program differently, resulting in variations in Medicaid coverage across the country.