Naranja Center partners with many agencies, such as Human Services Department and local agency on aging offices, to provide emergency assistance. There may be free food or home delivered meals, financial assistance for rent or paying utility bills, help for the elderly, and other support services available for those in need. Case managers can help connect you with state and federal government benefits you may be eligible for.
Resources for financial support
The federal government provides grants for the Emergency Food and Shelter Assistance Program for those who are experiencing difficulties. The financial aid is for those who are struggling to pay their mortgage, rent, and/or utility bills. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the Naranja Neighborhood Center also provide temporary shelter and food to those in need.
The HAG – Housing Assistance Grant can be used to pay for security and utility deposits. This is another housing program that helps low-income residents of Miami-Dade County with relocation expenses. It especially helps single parents who have children. The main focus of this program is to help veterans in the area, however, anyone who meets the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Poverty Income Guidelines or is homeless (or close to it) qualifies for this program. Services are only available one time.
The Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program in Florida provides financial assistance to low-income individuals and families who are struggling to pay their electric, cooling, and gas bills during summer. The LIHEAP Crisis Energy Assistance Program helps people who are low income and have poverty-related energy crisis situations. This can include people who have received final notices about their power being cut off, or who have already had their power disconnected.
If you are eligible for help from the Naranja Center for Crisis Assistance, you may get help paying your utility bills. Crisis assistance participants are allowed to request help twice a year, and the service is offered during winter and summer.
The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program provides assistance to low income families to help pay for energy costs. The program offers a Regular Energy Assistance credit payment that can be applied to an existing utility account. Regular Energy Assistance is restricted to one time per year per household, and eligible participants must continue paying their utility bills until the credits are applied to their accounts.
Care to Share is a donation program that allows people to donate items to others in need. Care to Share is a program that helps with heating and cooling bills. It is paid for by contributions and private donors. In addition to Care to Share, which Naranja Center can help people apply to, low-income customers of Florida Power and Light (FPL) can also receive financial assistance. This assistance is available to customers once per year, and applicants must have experienced a crisis within the 30 days prior to applying.
EHEAP is a program that helps senior citizens with energy costs. This resource is for households in emergency situations that have at least one member who is 60 years old or older. This means that if you get a disconnection notice or your utility bills are delinquent, you are considered to be in an emergency situation. If your local human service center does not provide this service, ask about Care to Share or LIHEAP.
Weatherization can also help with reducing cooling and energy bills. We want to help poor families save money on their energy bills. This program not only helps families in Dade County by reducing their energy bills so they can spend the money they save on other things they need, but it can also help with minor safety issues.
Naranja Neighborhood Center Community Action and Human Services and Public Housing and Community Development work together to offer the Home Repair Program. This service is designed to help low to moderate-income families who own their homes or condos in the community.
The focus is on resolving any problems with health and safety or code violations from the county or city. This may include very small repairs to the roof, electrical work, plumbing, and painting the outside of the house. The goal is to provide affordable, low-income housing for seniors or families while also improving the quality of life for residents.
Basic needs, food, and employment services from Naranja Center
The Naranja Center provides income-based assistance to Dade County residents who are experiencing emergency situations. This includes food and clothing distribution. If staff members assess that an applicant qualifies for assistance, the individual will receive a voucher or gift card. This can be used to pay for necessities like clothing, supplies, or food in an emergency.
A program called Meals on Wheels provides food for people who are unable to leave their homes. The program is run by Miami-Dade County Community Action and Human Services. The agencies and drivers offer free home-delivered meals to residents who are unable to leave their homes or prepare one on their own, due to disability, illness, or age. MOW provides seven frozen meals each week, accompanied by milk, fresh fruits, produce, and other food items. The amount of food provided depends on the amount of funding available.
Miami-Dade Community Action and the Naranja Center also offer English for Speakers of Other Languages courses for non-English speaking, low-income individuals in partnership with the Human Services Department’s Action Center. These courses can lead to further job training.
In addition to that, Computer Training courses are available to individuals who may not have a lot of money or who are unemployed and would like to work in the technology field. These courses can help them learn more about computers. The course will teach you how to use specific software, how to improve your personal computer skills and give you a basic introduction to office skills.
The Naranja Center is located at 13955 SW 264th St., Naranja, FL 33032. Call 305-258-5471.