Financial Assistance for Dependents

What is financial assistance?

Our program provides short-term immediate assistance with basic living expenses such as Rent, Mortgage, utilities, and food. Clients qualify by not having enough income to cover those items due to an unexpected emergency or through no fault of your own. However, delays in providing assistance may occur if not all paperwork is provided during your interview process. Financial assistance is a free program and there is no cost for applying or receiving financial assistance. Any funds received, are not required to be paid back.

What are the eligibility requirements to apply for financial assistance?

According to state law, eligible individuals must have:

Be a legal dependent or widow to an honorably discharged veteran that served in the U.S. military for other than training purposes.
Must be able to prove that you are a bona fide resident of Summit County for at least three months prior to application for benefits.

What to expect while seeking financial assistance?

When applying for financial assistance, the veteran and/or dependent need to arrive at our office during the appropriate application hours with the following documents: Veterans DD-214, a valid driver’s license or state ID card, marriage license, and birth certificates for children(if applicable)

Applications are taken on a first come, first served basis. No appointment is required. Upon arriving at our office, the receptionist will provide you with forms that request personal information and ask what benefits you are seeking assistance with.

A Service Officer will then assist you by completing your application during a personal interview. Information you are expected to provide will be:

Household composition (including date of birth for each member of the household whether or not the person is related to you);
Household income (all monies from any source, earned and unearned) for the past 30-days beginning from the day of your visit;
Employment history (date of hire, last day worked, reason for leaving); if you are unemployed and will be starting a new job, know the expected starting date and the date expecting to receive your first paycheck;
Monthly expenses paid in past 30-days beginning from the day of your visit (rent/mortgage, utilities, food, car/home insurance payments, etc.) If you receive a checklist, it will request all documents required to be brought back for your meeting with a Service Officer. We never determine an applicant’s eligibility over the phone. A face-to-face interview with a Service Officer is required to receive benefits, unless a medical condition prevents you from visiting our office visit. In that case, we can schedule a Service Officer to have a home-visit with you.
Once this process is completed, you will either be assisted that day, or given a checklist for any missing items needed and asked to return when you have those items, so that your eligibility can be determined.