Rental Assistance Catch 22’s

The best way to find rental assistance in Chicago appears to be calling 311.

Please be aware that in general, rental assistance is only available on a one-time basis for people who meet a very strict criteria that will likely put you in a catch 22. Oftentimes, you need to already be behind on your rent to the point that you have received an eviction notice. If you are up to date on your rent, but are having trouble making the next month’s rent, you might not be eligible. They prefer people who are on the verge of losing their housing. However, at the same time, to be eligible you often need to have enough funds and resources available, such as income from a job or social security, to show that you will be able to make the next month’s rent, because they do not want to help you pay your rent for one month, only for you to be on the verge of eviction again the next month. Such strict criteria makes the rental assistance programs only  available to people in unique circumstances, such as people who are unemployed at the time of their application, but will be starting work soon.

There are also programs for people looking to move into less expensive housing. However, again, the criteria is quite strict and leaves people in a catch 22. You need to be on the verge of eviction from your current apartment, and thus in a poor financial state (with bad credit), and at the same time were able to apply for and get accepted by another landlord. If you are able to do this, you may be able to find rental assistance that will cover the new security deposit and first month’s rent, but not moving fees.  

In addition to calling 311, Ezra has limited funds available for people who live within certain geographic boundaries. Please see this post for more details: https://enlighteningthedarkness.wordpress.com/2010/04/21/ezra-multi-service-center/

If you know of additional rental assistance programs or have experience with any of them, please feel free to contact me or leave a comment. Thank you!

Pet Food Stamps

According to their Facebook page, “Pet Food Stamps is a registered non-profit corporation in the state of New York, designed to provide pet food assistance to food stamp recipients and low income persons, nationwide, preventing pets from being surrendered to high kill animal shelters.” Pet Food Stamps joined Facebook in February 2013 and appears to be a new nonprofit that is gaining national attention. However, as of now, its website does not state what kind of nonprofit it is.

According to the Pet Food Stamps website, the program is available to pet owners who are on food stamps (LINK) or are otherwise low income, can show proof of need and apply for the program. If they are approved, pet food is ordered through PetFlow.com and then shipped to your home address. The program is available to anyone in the US.

Pet Food Stamps website: http://www.petfoodstamps.org/
Pet Food Stamps Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/PetFoodStamps

Please note: I, the author, have not participated in the Pet Food Stamps program nor have I personally spoken with them and thus cannot endorse them. If you have had any experience with them, please feel free to leave a comment. Thank you.

Pet Food Pantries

I see the question “can i buy cat food with link card” turning up in Google searches. The answer right now is, no, unfortunately, you can’t.

However, in addition to food pantries, there are pet food pantries to serve those who are unable to afford pet food to feed their pets. The rationale behind having pet food pantries is to help people keep their pets rather than risk them giving up their animals.

If you have any extra pet food or pet supplies, please consider donating them to animal shelter. Like any nonprofit, they’re always in need of donations. Look around your home, do you have any toys your cat or dog is no longer interested in? Is there food they don’t like to eat? Can you afford to buy food or cat litter to donate? While I strongly support Craigslist and Freecycle, please consider donating your supplies to a shelter instead. It might also save you some time, since you won’t have to worry about people flaking out on you. 🙂

Pet food can also be donated at many Petco locations.

Chicago

In Chicago, several animal shelters, pantries, and pet-related businesses have their own pet food banks.

Animal Welfare League
6224 S. Wabash Avenue
Chicago, IL 60637
773-667-0088
Last Thursday of each month

AniMeals
Serves Rogers Park and Uptown.

Care for Real
5341 N. Sheridan Rd.
Chicago, IL 60640
http://careforreal.org/pet.shtml
Contact: (773) 769-6182
office@careforreal.org
Details: If you live in the area, you can visit the pet food pantry the 1st Thursday of each month from 3pm to 5pm. Care for Reals asks people not to arrive before 2:45pm and to bring proof of address and need, such as a medical card if you are on Medicaid. In addition, while they generally have a large amount of dry puppy and dog food thanks to the generosity of Bark Bark Club and donors, they have a very limited supply of cat food and will likely run out of it. The dry dog food they have is in its original bags, so you might be able to get large bags of 10lbs or heavier. In addition, due to the large number of people, it might be best to allot at least an hour if you want to use the pantry.
(Care for Real also has a regular food pantry.)

Chicago Party Animals
1133 W Fulton Market, 1st Floor
Chicago, Illinois 60607
773.383.DOGS (3647)
tim@chicagopartyanimals.com
Wednesdays from 11am -2pm
Families must show proof of pet ownership and a valid ID.

PAWS
Lurie Spay/Neuter Clinic
3516 W. 26th Street
Chicago, IL 60623
773-475-9426
Done by appointment. Will provide dog and cat food and supplies once a month.

Tree House
Uptown branch:
1212 W Carmen Ave
Chicago, IL 60640-2999
(Near the Argyle stop on the Red line)
(773) 784-5488 ext. 221
Details: The pet food pantry is available on Thursdays and you are allowed to visit it once every two weeks. They will create a file for you, ask about your number of pets and if they are fixed or not. You will also have prove that you are low income, such as through pay stubs, unemployment checks, Medicaid card, etc. They generally have canned and dry dog and cat food, treats, and kitty litter. The amount of food and brands they get is based upon what is donated to them either directly or from donation bins at area pet stores like Petco. Dry food and kitty litter is generally opened up and divided put into plastic bags meant to last several weeks. There is virtually no wait time.

National

Itchmo Pet News

National Food Bank Directory

Illinois and Wisconsin

Nose to the Ground