Low Income Housing? (Sacramento, Riverside, Pittsburg: apts, rent , employment)

[WannaBNorCal]

PLease help. I am in an extremely abusive living situation with my brother.
I need to move.
The problem: I am disabled due to surgeries for endometriosis, and that brings me about 650 each month.
I have 20K in savings.

Is this possible?

If so, how and where?

My heart and mental health can't take anymore abuse, and I don't know where to go.
I am staying with friends for a week, but then have to face reality of finding a place to get the hell outta dodge and away from my abusive brother.

What are my options? I thought about Riverside county, LA county, or the desert, I am at a loss.................where is low income housing and where and how do I apply--I hear there is a waiting list the length of the MS river?

[EscapeCalifornia]

Have you looked for rooms for rent on Craig's List? That's probably the quickest way to get out at a reasonable cost. I imagine any government assistance takes a while to get. Find some little old lady with a paid-off house to rent from.

[Unkllars]

EscapeCalifornia has great ideas. As he said, government assistance sometimes does take a little while, so look up Section 8 housing and see what the qualifications are and how to apply.

[Sandpointian]

You need to build a nest egg. Looks for places which offer gainful employment and $10K-$15K savings/year. that will be hard to pull off in most places in California except for Sacramento and Riverside areas (now that there are thousands of places to rent for a heck of a lot less than before). But yur best bet is to get out of California. Try Portland, Miami, Vegas, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, Boise, etc. You need to save money.

Smaller alternatives, like Coeur d'Alene are great places to "heal" but might not offer the plethora of employment opportunities as the big cities might.

Another alternative is to go overseas, like to Dubai or Abu Dhabi. But there you need to have very marketable skills for the global economy.

Being poor in California (i.e. starting with little, no connections and no inheritance) is very difficult. The high cost of living and high taxes and high costs of wasted time combine to make you feel as if you are always runnign uphill.

If you have a good career already and you are single, then it can be a great place. But if you don;t, the odds are stacked against you.

Other states offer dramatically lower costs of living and lower tax structures. You have a chance to build a nest egg and your CV.

But Sac Valley and Riverside are your last hope, as $20K is not much to build a life on.

Good Luck!

[Ultrarunner]

Unless things have changed... I do not believe you are eligible as a single person with 20K in the Bank.

I've had families loose their Housing Assistance when they inherited a modest amount of money...

Call the local Housing Authority and ask for the Eligibility Department or try online research.

Depending on where you are... I would also explore options from disabled housing.

[ftgolfer]

If in fact abuse is going on, the first thing you need to do is contact the local Police Department. Take action to protect yourself against what's happening. ---I know of apts in Adelanto that are low cost housing and have units available. If you want more info, private message me. Adelanto isn't the nicest place to live, but, the apts are brand new, never lived in. I know the manager, she tells me there having trouble filling them. Inside the gates there pretty nice. Outside, not so much. But hey, if your truly in the situation you've descibed, do what you have to do.

---People have made some good points about you qualifying however.

[WannaBNorCal]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

Unless things have changed... I do not believe you are eligible as a single person with 20K in the Bank.

I've had families loose their Housing Assistance when they inherited a modest amount of money...

Thanks all, I have a few options I'm looking at like going back to 'refresh' my MA, and/or getting some ECE units under my belt to become a TA, so I can make more than minimum wage.
Inherited money isn't taxable by the way. So those families you speak of above must have opened their big mouths.....hmmm
Sandpointian - Riverside is cheaper than OC, you're right. I think the answer is to finish my BA and get marketable and get my career going!!! I don't see any other alternative for me.