State Welfare Agencies

• Sometimes state welfare agencies help low-income families with car repairs because parents may be unable to obtain and maintain jobs and get off welfare if they don't have reliable transportation. This varies from state to state. Check with the welfare agency in the county in which you live. The name of the state welfare agency differs from state to state: in Oklahoma it's the Department of Human Services; in Texas it's the Health and Human Services Commission; in Washington it's the Department of Social and Health Services; and so on.
  
  

Battered Women's Shelters

• Battered women's shelters sometimes help single women with children pay for car repairs if they need their cars to escape an abusive relationship. Contact your local battered women's shelter, or call the women's crisis line or rape crisis line listed in your local Yellow Pages.
  
  

Churches

• Sometimes churches help low-income families pay for car repairs. If you belong to a church, ask your pastor. If you don't belong to a church, call some local churches and speak to the pastors and ask if their church can help. Sometimes they will help, even if you don't attend church there.
  
  

Other Organizations

• Many other organizations sometimes help low-income families with car repairs, but it varies widely from place to place. For instance, Catholic Social Services in one city may help with this but Catholic Social Services in another city may not. You may have to make numerous phone calls to find the help you need. If you call one organization and someone tells you that agency cannot help, ask if he knows anyone that can. Try places like Catholic Social Services, Jewish Social Services, the YWCA and the Salvation Army.