176 services in Berks County. The programs in Berks County that help with food, rent, bills, health care, legal trouble, a ride, child care or a benefit, and how to reach each one.
Run a program that helps people?
Countywide
The Berks County Court of Common Pleas runs the Mortgage Foreclosure Diversion Program, established in 2012 to give the parties in a residential mortgage foreclosure action a procedure for resolving…
From Berks County Court of Common Pleas
Reading
The Berks Coalition to End Homelessness runs a Safe Parking Lot in Berks County where people experiencing homelessness can park their cars overnight safely and legally. The lot has a locked gate to…
From Berks Coalition to End Homelessness
Reading
The Berks Coalition to End Homelessness runs Coordinated Entry, one assessment that measures what a person or family experiencing homelessness needs and refers them to the community resources that…
From Berks Coalition to End Homelessness
Reading
Safe Berks runs an emergency shelter, called the Safe House, for survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault and their children, and staff also help survivors find longer term housing. The…
From Safe Berks
Reading
Opportunity House runs a year-round emergency shelter at 430 North Second Street in Reading for men, women, children, and veterans who are experiencing homelessness. The Reading shelter is open 24…
From Opportunity House
Reading
Genesis is Hope Rescue Mission's initial emergency shelter program for men in Reading, providing up to six months of support to 100 men per night. Guests are provided three meals daily, free clothing…
From Hope Rescue Mission
The Homeless Assistance Program, known as HAP, pays for housing, homelessness prevention and case management for people who are homeless or close to losing their housing. To ask about it, contact the…
From Berks County Mental Health / Developmental Disabilities Program
Countywide
Hope Rescue Mission runs HopeHouse, a group of private apartments and group homes located throughout Berks County for people leaving its onsite residential programs and moving toward living on their…
From Hope Rescue Mission
Reading
Hope Rescue Mission runs the LightHouse Women & Children's Center at 715 North Sixth Street in Reading, a shelter for single women and for women with children who have nowhere to stay. The center…
From Hope Rescue Mission
Reading
Safe Haven is Hope Rescue Mission's next step emergency shelter in Reading, providing up to three months of support to 53 men per night who have attained gainful employment or fixed income benefits.…
From Hope Rescue Mission
Leesport
Easy Does It, Inc. keeps 10 supportive housing beds at its Leesport campus for Berks County residents in recovery from substance use disorder who pay their own housing fees. Residents live in a…
From Easy Does It
Countywide · By referral only
Service Access & Management, Inc. runs the Shelter + Care Program in Berks County, which places people in individual apartment units scattered around the community and charges rent based on what they…
From Service Access & Management
The YMCA of Reading & Berks County rents single rooms to single men and women at its Reading branch. Two sets of rooms are listed, one called Single Room Occupancy (General) and one called Single…
From YMCA of Reading & Berks County
Reading
Hope Rescue Mission runs a Transitional Housing program in Reading for men who are ready to move beyond emergency shelter into a more stable, goal-oriented living environment. It is the next step…
From Hope Rescue Mission
Leesport
The YMCA of Reading & Berks County runs several transitional living programs for people who are homeless, most of them tied to recovery from substance use. Each program provides case management in an…
From YMCA of Reading & Berks County
Birdsboro · Not taking applications right now
Mission Trip Birdsboro and Beyond sends volunteers to help homeowners with tasks around their home during a yearly mission. The kinds of work they list include landscaping, painting, fence work…
From Mission Trip Birdsboro and Beyond; Birdsboro Shares
Countywide
The Redevelopment Authority of the County of Berks runs the Major Systems Program, which helps low-income families who own and live in their home pay to repair or replace a major system of the house.…
From Redevelopment Authority of the County of Berks
Countywide
Habitat for Humanity of Berks County runs a First-Time Home Buyer Program that gives individuals and families the chance to own a fully renovated or newly built home when they would not qualify for a…
From Habitat for Humanity of Berks County
Reading
Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks gives one-on-one counseling to people who want to buy a home, who need to understand and build their credit first, or who already own a home and want…
From Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks
PPL Electric Utilities runs WRAP, which gives income-eligible customers a no-cost energy assessment, free energy-saving products and energy tips meant to lower electric use over the long term. You…
From PPL Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities runs Operation HELP, which gives cash grants to families who are struggling to pay their electric bills. The grants are applied directly to your bill, and you do not have to…
From PPL Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities has payment arrangements and other programs for customers who are having trouble paying their electric bill, including people facing a scheduled shut off. Payment arrangements…
From PPL Electric Utilities
Countywide · Taking applications
Dollar Energy Fund gives one-time grants that are applied directly to the electric bill of customers of Met-Ed and the other FirstEnergy companies in Pennsylvania, Penelec, Penn Power and West Penn…
From Dollar Energy Fund
UGI Utilities runs a Customer Assistance Program, called CAP, that sets your monthly gas or electric payment based on your household income or your average bill, whichever is lower, and forgives part…
From UGI Utilities
Reading
The Reading Area Water Authority can put customers who need more time to pay a water bill balance on a payment plan. You call the Customer Service Department, review your balance with a customer…
From Reading Area Water Authority
Countywide
Met-Ed offers short-term help through its Customer Assistance & Referral Evaluation Services program to residential customers who have fallen behind on their electric bill because of a temporary…
From Met-Ed
Reading
Reading Public Library lends out Wi-Fi hotspot kits, called RPL HotSpots, so you can get online at home with a tablet, laptop or other Wi-Fi-enabled device. If you have a library card, you can check…
From Reading Public Library
Reading
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Allentown runs a food pantry at 234 Grace Street in Reading, its Berks County office, for people who do not have enough to eat. Its food pantries provide essential…
From Catholic Charities
Helping Harvest's Maternal Health Program gives a box of nutritious food to people who are pregnant or who have recently given birth. It is a two-year pilot program, made possible by the Jewish…
From Helping Harvest Fresh Food Bank
Kutztown
Friend, Inc. Community Services runs a food pantry at the Kempton Community Center where Albany Township residents can pick up a box of food once a month. It is open to Albany Township residents and…
From Friend, Inc. Community Services
Reading
Hope Rescue Mission serves three meals a day to the men staying in its emergency shelter programs at 645 North Sixth Street in Reading. The meals come with a shelter bed rather than as a separate…
From Hope Rescue Mission
Boyertown Area Multi-Service runs Meals on Wheels, which brings a hot noon meal, and an optional cold evening meal, to people who are 60 years and older, homebound, and disabled and/or unable to shop…
From Boyertown Area Multi-Service
Reading
Berks Encore, working with Redner's Warehouse Markets, sends a volunteer to buy your groceries and bring them to your home on a regular basis if you have difficulty getting to a grocery store or…
From Berks Encore
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Berks County Family Court posts custody and divorce forms, local filing instructions and lawyer referral information for people who go to court in Berks County without a lawyer. The forms and…
From Berks County Court of Common Pleas
Reading
The Berks County Bar Association's Lawyer Referral Service matches a person who needs a lawyer with an attorney in Berks County who handles their kind of legal problem, such as a foreclosure…
From Berks County Bar Association
MidPenn Legal Services runs a Low Income Taxpayer Clinic that gives free legal advice and representation to low-income taxpayers, and to taxpayers who speak English as a second language, in disputes…
From MidPenn Legal Services
Countywide
MidPenn Legal Services helps low-income people in Berks County with problems involving public benefit programs, so they can provide for themselves and their families. Its lawyers provide free…
From MidPenn Legal Services
Reading
The Berks County Bar Association's Modest Means Program matches people who earn too much to qualify for Legal Aid with a Berks County attorney who will represent them at a discounted rate. It is…
From Berks County Bar Association
Reading
The Berks County Public Defender's Office provides lawyers to people charged with crimes who cannot afford to hire an attorney, including juveniles charged with delinquency. Its attorneys handle…
From Berks County Public Defender