23 services in Berks County. SNAP, Medicaid, cash assistance and LIHEAP are state programs applied for on the COMPASS website or at the Berks County Assistance Office in Reading. The Property Tax/Rent Rebate is for older adults and people with disabilities. Free tax preparation runs from late January through April at sites that change each year.
Run a program that helps people?
Countywide
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) administers the Blind Veterans Pension, which pays eligible veterans a monthly pension of $150 when a service-connected injury or…
From Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Countywide
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) runs the Amputee and Paralyzed Veterans Pension, which pays eligible veterans a monthly pension of $150. To qualify, you must have…
From Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Reading
PA CareerLink Berks County, at 1920 Kutztown Road, Suite F, Reading, PA 19604, offers limited help around unemployment compensation: it has fax machine services available if you need to fax an…
From PA CareerLink Berks County
Countywide · Taking applications
The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry runs the Unemployment Compensation (UC) program, which provides temporary income support if you lose your job through no fault of your own, or if…
From PA Department of Labor and Industry
Reading
The Berks County Assistance Office is the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services office in Reading where county residents apply for and renew state benefits. Pennsylvania offers assistance and…
From Berks County Assistance Office
Countywide
Cash assistance is a group of programs from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, handled locally by county assistance offices such as the Berks County Assistance Office, that give temporary…
From Berks County Assistance Office
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs gives grants of up to $5,000 to servicemembers and their families who face an unexpected financial emergency, through the Pennsylvania…
From Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Countywide
The Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA) runs the Veterans Temporary Assistance (VTA) Program, which gives temporary financial assistance of up to $1,600 in a 12-month…
From Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs
Countywide · By referral only
Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors pays emergency bills for veterans in crisis, covering things like rent, a housing security deposit, a mortgage payment, minor home repair, basic utilities such as gas…
From Pennsylvania Wounded Warriors
Reading
Centro Hispano Daniel Torres has an Information and Referral team in Reading that connects individuals and families to the resources they need and helps them work through the paperwork. Staff are…
From Centro Hispano Daniel Torres
Countywide
Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank helps residents of Berks and Schuylkill counties apply for SNAP benefits, the food assistance many people still call food stamps. The help is for people who live in…
From Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank
Reading
The Council on Chemical Abuse, also called COCA, is a Berks County nonprofit that helps people sort out how to pay for drug and alcohol treatment. If your co-pay or deductible for treatment is…
From Council on Chemical Abuse
Countywide · Not taking applications right now
Family Promise of Berks County runs a Rent & Utility Assistance Program that offers emergency financial assistance to help families facing eviction or utility shut-off stay in their homes. That help…
From Family Promise of Berks County
READING
The Salvation Army Reading Citadel runs a program called SHARE that helps people in the community get necessities they cannot cover on their own. SHARE helps provide prescriptions, utility bills…
From The Salvation Army Reading Citadel
Reading
The Berks County Tax Claim Bureau offers a Hardship Agreement, a payment plan for people who have fallen behind on their property taxes because of illness or injury. To qualify, you must be…
From Berks County Tax Claim Bureau
Mohnton · Seasonal
The Berks County Assessment Office takes appeals from property owners who believe their property assessment is wrong, and it posts the forms you need to file one. The office keeps ownership and…
From Berks County Assessment Office
Countywide · Taking applications
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue's Property Tax/Rent Rebate Program pays a yearly rebate of $380 to $1,000 to older adults and people with disabilities who own or rent their home. Applications…
From Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
Reading
The Berks County Tax Claim Bureau runs a Tax Deferral Program that offers tax assistance to senior citizens who are having difficulty paying the property taxes they owe. You have to apply for it, and…
From Berks County Tax Claim Bureau
Countywide
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue offers free in-person help filling out and filing Property Tax/Rent Rebate (PTRR) applications. Department representatives visit senior and community centers…
From Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
Countywide
The IRS runs two programs, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE), that prepare basic federal and state tax returns at no charge through IRS-certified…
From IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance
Reading
Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services offers help with burial or cremation costs for people who meet its eligibility rules. The local County Assistance Office determines eligibility. In Berks…
From Berks County Assistance Office
The Greater Reading Mental Health Alliance runs a Representative Payee Program to help people who are unable to manage their own finances keep living independently. A representative payee is…
From Greater Reading Mental Health Alliance
READING
The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue keeps a district office in Reading where staff offer in-person support with state tax matters. The department describes these offices as how it offers support…
From Pennsylvania Department of Revenue
Every rule, cost and phone number here comes from the provider. We are a guide to Berks County, not the program: call before you go. If something is wrong, every service page has a report link, and our corrections policy says what happens next.