Skip to Content

FAQ

Low Income Relief is an information service that helps people connect with benefits and resources. We’ve been doing this for 10 years now and we’ve received a lot of questions over the years.

Please note that this page is specifically for questions about Low Income Relief as an organization and generic questions that apply to multiple services. For questions about specific programs or benefits, you will need to search our website or chat with LIRA.

FAQs about Low Income Relief

For more information about Low Income Relief, please visit our about page and policy pages.

Who is Low Income Relief?

Low Income Relief is an information service owned by Nicole Thelin. She founded the website in 2013, following her own experiences with poverty. She personally creates most of the content for this website and our YouTube channel, although we do have a team of other contributors as well.

Will Low Income Relief give me money?

No. Low Income Relief is an information service; we do not distribute funds ourselves. We LOVE researching things for you. We’re happy to research your local area and find agencies that can help you with that specific need… but our organization cannot give you any money directly.

We also cannot share or donate to your GoFundMe or other fundraiser. We receive countless requests for donations every week and we couldn’t possibly keep up with them all.

How can I talk to someone at Low Income Relief?

Because we are a small team serving millions of people per year, we do not offer one-on-one conversations or consultations. You can chat with LIRA, our automated assistant, at any time.

However, to reach a person at Low Income Relief, you will need to do one of these things:

  1. Leave a comment somewhere on our website.
  2. Leave a comment on our YouTube channel.
  3. Leave a comment in our Facebook Group.

These are the only ways you can reach someone at Low Income Relief currently.

How can I get more information?

If you’d like us to send information about low income programs and benefits directly to you, there are two ways that you can make that happen.

  1. Sign up for our emails.
  2. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and enable notifications.

Other FAQs

Sometimes the information we provide can be confusing. We’re always happy to answer your questions!

What does Suggested Donation mean?

Some of the organizations we report on have a “suggested donation.” Low Income Relief does not request donations.

A suggested donation is a modest estimate of the value of the service. A suggested donation is not the same as a fee or required rate, so these organizations will not turn away an eligible client if they can’t afford to pay. For example, many of the agencies that provide meals for seniors have a suggested donation for seniors and a set (non-negotiable) fee for anyone who has not yet reached senior status.

Suggested donations mean you can pay as little or as much as you want for that service. If you can’t afford more than a few pennies, that’s fine. If you want to pay more, that is always appreciated! If you want to wait until after you’ve been served to decide what the service was worth, that’s also acceptable. Most of these agencies operate on the honor system, trusting people to pay what they can.

However, please remember that these organizations rely on donations to continue offering these essential services. The suggested donation amount is usually a fair price for the services provided. Visitors who can afford to pay help keep the service running for those who need it most.