Grants for Low Income in San Diego

San Diego is a city in California, and with a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the second-most populous in California and the eighth-most populous city in the United States. San Diego is known for its mild year-round climate, beautiful parks, and extensive beaches. The city’s economic sectors include tourism, defense/military, international trade, and research/manufacturing. The average home in San Diego has two cars per household, and the median property value in 2018 was $654,700. But despite these statistics, there are also many low-income seniors, veterans, single mothers, or families living in San Diego. Therefore, there are a lot of services and programs for these low-income individuals in San Diego. These benefits are financed by the federal government, the City of San Diego, and local nonprofit organizations.

Financial and Cash Assistance

General Relief (GR) is a County-funded program that presents temporary cash assistance for eligible low-income residents in San Diego who have no other support means. Low incomes must repay the county any aid they receive. 

To receive help from the program, low-income people, families, seniors, and veterans must meet the following requirements:

• You must be a San Diego County resident.
• You must have a valid Social Security Number. 
• You must be a U.S. Citizen.
• You must be between 18 and 64 years of age.
• Your income must be less than $449 (for individuals) or $614 (for families).

To see more information, please follow the link https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/ or call 1-866-262-9881.

CalWORKs is funded by the country and is designed to transition people from welfare to work. Low and very low-income families with minor children in San Diego are able to apply for temporary cash assistance. CalWORKs’ goal is to move families with children from dependency to self-sufficiency through employment. The amount of cash assistance a family receives varies by income and the number of family members. To learn more, please visit https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/ or make a phone call at 1-866-262-9881

Housing and Rent Assistance

The San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC) is a public agency dedicated to increasing and preserving affordable housing within the City of San Diego. The Housing Commission assists low-income families in the City of San Diego to obtain housing that they can afford. More than 16,000 low-income households in San Diego get help to afford their rent through the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher rental assistance program that is administered by SDHC. It also has helped produce more than 26,000 affordable rental housing units since 1979. In addition, more than 5,800 needy families have achieved homeownership with help from SDHC’s First-Time Homebuyer Program. For further information, please go to https://www.sdhc.org/ or by phone at (619) 231-9400.

Trinity Place is a new construction supportive housing community of 74 homes for formerly unhoused low-income seniors aged 55+ who have chronic health needs. It is a Wakeland community in San Diego. Wakeland is a nonprofit corporation. Trinity Place combines affordable housing with medical and social services to help low-income seniors transition from homelessness. Find out more information at https://www.wakelandhdc.com/ or make a phone call at 619.235.2296.

Health Assistance

Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD) is one of the largest community clinic organizations in the nation. FHCSD presents reasonable, high-quality health care and supportive benefits to uninsured, low-income, and medically underserved individuals, seniors, veterans, or single mothers. They offer care to over 227,000 low-income patients annually. Family Health Centers of San Diego operates 58 sites across San Diego. Click here https://www.fhcsd.org/ to read more information or by phone at (619) 515-2300.

San Ysidro Health is a nonprofit organization that offers high-quality, accessible, and affordable healthcare services for low-income individuals, seniors, and families. This organization presents innovative services to more than 100,000 needy people. Low-income persons may benefit from medical, dental, and behavioral health services. San Ysidro Health is a FQHC. Find out more information at https://www.syhc.org/ or dial 619-662-4100.

Utility Bill Assistance

San Diego Gas and Electric is a company that provides solutions to help low-income persons in San Diego. The California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) program may be able to offer people in need up to a 35% discount on their monthly utility expenses. Apart from this, San Diego Gas and Electric’s Family Electric Rate Assistance (FERA) program offers selected families of three or more individuals an 18 percent discount on their monthly electric bills. If customers don’t qualify for the CARE program, San Diego Gas and Electric can check if they are eligible for FERA. Low-income families and individuals can apply online. The application is easy and quick. Explore more opportunities through the following link https://www.sdge.com/ or call 210-362-5282.

Help to Others San Diego (H2O SD) Program is a bill payment assistance option for financially struggling persons within the city of San Diego. Donations fund the H2O SD Program. The program is partnered with 2-1-1 San Diego. Suppose low-income individuals in San Diego qualify for San Diego Gas and Electric’s California Alternate Rates for Energy (CARE) Program. In that case, they may be eligible for the Help to Others San Diego (H2O SD) Program. You can look for more info at https://www.sdfoundation.org/news-events/sdf-news/h2o-sd-program-helps-low-income-san-diegans-pay-water-bills/ or by phone at 619-515-3500.

Food Assistance

Feeding San Diego is a nonprofit organization that is the only Feeding America member in San Diego. The leading hunger relief and food rescue organization presents more than 40 million meals to low-income families, students, veterans, seniors, and homeless people. First, the organization rescues high-quality, surplus food from food donors. Then, it distributes the food to low-income individuals in San Diego through the organization’s community partners. To see more information, please follow the link https://feedingsandiego.org/ or call the helpline at 858.452.3663. 

The San Dıego Food Bank is the largest hunger relief organization in San Diego. It is a non-profit organization that provides nutritious food to low-income persons, families, seniors, and single mothers in San Diego. The food bank is working with 500 nonprofit partners. The link to their official website is as follows https://sandiegofoodbank.org/ or call toll-free at 1-866-350-FOOD (3663).