DFW Area Nonprofit Helping Residents In Dire Financial Straits

DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) - If you have financial hardships like being unable to pay your rent or have unpaid medical bills, you don't always have to struggle and suffer.

There are agencies that help people through trying times with access to millions of dollars.

Rebecca Walls is Executive Director of the nonprofit Unite DFW which is connecting a network of 600 area churches to help people navigate not only rent and mortgage problems, but also medical expenses, financial challenges related to education and child care among other hardships.

"That's why I'm very excited about this kind of opportunity to get the word out because it really is just a matter of letting them know that there is help and there's a trusted place to go," said Walls.

A place to go for an estimated 300,000 DFW households that the agency says had little or no confidence they would be able to pay their November 2021 rent.

While 27% of DFW children live in a household that's uncertain where their next meal will come from.

When her husband died unexpectedly last year, Melissa Vickers had to face more than unbearable grief.

"It left me $1,000 less a month basically and I fell behind rent 15 months," said Vickers.

Fifteen months behind added up to more than $10,000 in overdue rent on her Southeast Dallas County home.

Vickers sought help from government rent assistance but got nowhere.

"I had to go seek counseling," she said.

But Vickers and her family are caught up on the rent all because of Unite DFW.

"People just don't expect it to be help especially the rental assistance that's available out there it feels too good to be true," said Walls.

If you are in need of assistance, CLICK HERE, press "get help" and enter your name and phone number.