About Low Income Relief

Low Income Relief is a free information service that helps low income people across America save money and get free stuff. We connect people with benefits, programs and resources in their local communities (such as food banks and homeless shelters). We also research and report on helpful nationwide, state and local programs that help alleviate poverty (such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, Section 8, and more).

We’re here to help people in poverty.

At Low Income Relief, we understand the struggle. The goal of everything we write and everything we do is to put help in the hands of those who need it most.

Specifically, our mission is to help low income people get the help they need to make ends meet. We do this by covering a diverse range of topics that are both local and nationwide.

Who (and how) does Low Income Relief help?

We help by providing factual information about low income benefits, programs and resources around the United States. Our audience is very diverse, and includes seniors, young families, single mothers, disabled veterans and more.

You don’t have to take our word for it, though! Our readers will tell you how much we’ve helped them in their own words. Check out our review page to see how we’ve helped our readers.

Why should I trust Low Income Relief?

Our first and primary goal is to help others. Everyone who submits content for Low Income Relief follows a strict set of guidelines and best practices to ensure that our information is accurate. We also have a dedicated fact-checker who reviews our older content to ensure that it’s accurate and up-to-date.

The majority of content on the website is written by Nicole Thelin, our founder. Nicole has over 20 years of experience as a journalist and researcher. Low Income Relief began after her personal experiences with poverty, as described below. She has specialized in researching low income topics since 2013.

As you can see in the Team section below, the majority of our current contributors are social workers who have hands-on experience assisting low income clients. We also have a fact-checker that keeps our content updated and accurate.

Low Income Relief is part of The Lighthouse Information Network LLC, which is owned solely by Nicole Thelin. This is Nicole’s content creation company, which operates other websites like GetHelpMap.com, ThatWeirdFamily.com and more. This business is registered in the state of Utah and its entity number is 11271209-0160.

Low Income Relief has been featured in many media outlets including:

• US News
• The Sun
• Fox 11 News (Los Angeles CA)
• Fox 26 News (Houston TX)
• Yahoo Finance
• Money Inc.
• Google Publisher Stories
• Niche Pursuits
• Goodwill AZ

How does Low Income Relief make money?

This is a question that we’re often asked. Low Income Relief makes money through the use of display advertising and affiliate programs. We partner with some excellent brands, such as Ibotta and Amazon, who offer products and discounts that benefit with low income families.

Integrity is more important to us than money. We carefully vet every advertiser, sponsor, and affiliate program that we participate in. We will not promote any product, service, or company that is harmful to or predatory toward our audience. We only accept partnerships and deals for products that we feel are genuinely helpful to our audience.

If you would like to support us financially, please purchase a YouTube channel membership (starting at just 99 cents per month!).

How did Low Income Relief start?

Low Income Relief began from the struggle that Nicole and her family experienced in 2007.

When their family faced homelessness after her husband’s abrupt medical discharge from the US Army, she started researching programs that could help them get back on their feet. With the resources she found, she was able to gather enough donations and pledges to help her family move into a low income housing unit in the next town over. One agency supplied furniture; a food bank stocked their shelves with food. It was a miracle!

In the years that followed, Nicole helped friends and family find help with their needs, too. She was constantly being asked to help others find resources with rent, food, medical coverage, dental care, veterinary expenses, transportation and more.

Eventually, she realized that she could use my experience as a researcher and writer to help a much larger audience. She purchased the Low Income Relief domain in 2013 and has been researching low income assistance programs for people all over America since then.

Meet the Low Income Relief Team

Nicole Thelin

Founder

Nicole has over 20 years of journalism and research experience. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Livestrong.com, eHow.com, The Daily Herald, The Chronicle and more. She has been researching and reporting on low income topics full-time for almost 10 years.

AnnElyse Tews

Editor

AnnElyse followed her passion into the medical field and graduated with honors. Now she uses her meticulous editing skills to help perfect our content.

Jessika Saunders

Fact-Checker

A wife and mother of two, Jessika graduated with a Creative Writing degree from UNC – Wilmington. She edits, writes, and teaches fitness classes during the week, and she loves practicing Japanese after spending two and a half years in Japan during and after college.  

Diannalynn Claridge

Fact-Checker

Diannalynn Claridge received her B.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University and her M.A. in Organizational Leadership from Chapman University. 

Marie McCollum

Author

Marie McCollum has a Masters of Social Work from the University of Georgia. She is currently the Director of Programs for a non-profit in Decatur, Georgia.

Catherine Hall

Author

Catherine Hall, LMSW is a therapist at a small group practice in New York City. She earned her master of social work degree at New York University.

Lydia Mockensturm

Author

Lydia Mockensturm has a BA in English and previously taught English as a second language. As a freelance writer and editor, she’s passionate about using her research and writing experience to help others find the resources they need.

Rachel Grayless

Author

After 27 years in law enforcement and state Veterans Affairs agencies, Rachel found herself working from home and looking for dollar-stretching resources. She helps translate government programs into easy-to-understand guides.

Chloe Copti

Author

As a third-year English major with years of researching and writing experience, Chloe uses her experience and her passion for helping others to help you get the financial aid you deserve.

Matthew Jones

Author

Matthew Jones is a freelancer writer and former English teacher with a BA in Film and Philosophy. If you’d like to see more of Matthew’s writing, check out his blog at Philosophy in Film.

Jessica Richburg

Author

Jessica Richburg is a freelance writer and educator. A graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, she’s located on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, where she passes the time reading, writing, and trying not to be eaten by her feral cat.

Kara Foley

Author

Kara is a freelance writer with experience in public policy and administration. She is passionate about helping others and spreading awareness on major global events.

Catherine Marucci

Community Team

Catherine has been a community manager for over 10 years. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology, as well as experience in social work. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, watching movies, and exploring new places!

Isaac Wilson

Community Team

Isaac Wilson is a college student who loves serving others and helping people see the good in the world. 

Tiffany Oleole

Admin Team

Tiffany received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Therapeutic Recreation and a minor in Gerontology from Brigham Young University. She has two beautiful children and a handsome husband from Hawaii. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Low Income Relief

As you can tell by the extensive comments below, we’ve received a lot of questions about our business. We’ve done our best to answer the most common ones here. If you have a question that isn’t answered below, please let us know!

How do I contact Low Income Relief?

The best way to reach Low Income Relief is to leave a comment on our website, social media pages, or YouTube channel. Our moderator will usually respond within 48 hours. For business matters (such as sponsorships or interview requests), you can email Nicole’s assistant at [email protected] but please understand that we can’t respond individually to everyone due to the volume of emails that we receive.

Where is Low Income Relief?

Low Income Relief is part of The Lighthouse Information Network LLC and is registered in the state of Utah. However, our business is all-remote so our team can work from anywhere. For the safety of our team members and their families, we do not list our physical location online.

Can I call Low Income Relief?

Low Income Relief does not have a public phone number. Our team is very small and very busy, so we simply do not have the time or resources to help our readers individually. If you need help, please consider chatting with LIRA on our website.

Does Low Income Relief accept guest posts?

Low Income Relief is always looking for new and helpful resources for our audience. However, due to the amount of spam we’ve received, we no longer accept guest posts. We also do NOT accept paid link insertions in existing content, as that is a link scheme and against Google Webmaster Guidelines.

Is Low Income Relief available for interviews or speaking engagements?

YES! Nicole, the founder of Low Income Relief, is happy to participate in an interview or speak at your event. Since she has received a number of threats, all requests are screened by her assistant first. Please contact [email protected] with your request.