Across Broward County, families are struggling to survive and stretch their monthly income. Costs for everything from housing, childcare and food are going up at alarming rates, while wages have not. If you or someone you know is in need of any health, financial or social assistance, Broward County has an existing system of care in place that might be able to help.
To learn more about many of the community resources available you can call 211, Broward’s First Call for Help line or visit their website. 211 has the most comprehensive listing of available services include legal support, programs for special populations such as children, veterans, persons with disabilities and teenagers.
They also manage 988, the crisis and suicide care hotline. If you or anyone you know is considering harming themselves or others, please seek help immediately. It’s OK to not be OK.
Many cities and Broward County provide or fund programs. Please visit your local municipal page to find out what programs might be in your city!
We are also lucky to have the Children’s Services Council, which not only provides funding to local nonprofits on a variety of services from after school programs, drowning prevention and behavioral health support but they also manage the Children’s Strategic Plan, which has a number of ways for you to get more involved in your community. Every year they publish the Family Resource Guide, a great resource directory for parents and caregivers.
If someone you know is on the verge of homelessness, you are not alone. While many programs have specific parameters on who they can serve and how, the first step is calling 954-563-4357.
If you’ve got an aging loved one and are part of the “sandwich generation” like me, you will find the Area Agency on Aging to be a fantastic source of information. So many of us are balancing the needs of our kids and gaining family members and resources. Programs include caregiver support, health and wellness classes, Medicare counseling and more.
CareerSource Broward is our local one stop shop for workforce development. If you are looking to further your career, looking for a new job or funds to help you gain new skills, this should be the first place to look. They also provide resources for employers and have a robust program for summer youth employment.
Mental and behavioral health is an important topic, though oftentimes people hesitate to seek help or services.
Broward Sheriff’s Office also provides community programs in the community and resources on their website for crime prevention and safety, hurricane season, and their Saferwatch program.
Broward County has two public hospital systems, Broward Health and Memorial Healthcare System. Both provide robust programming in the community from behavioral health, cancer services, programming for children and families as well as services for the senior population.
Broward Regional Health Planning Council is a local nonprofit that provides services around healthcare, including their Get Covered Broward program. You may be eligible if you are Self-employed or an independent contractor, unemployed or working fewer hours than normal, never had insurance, are a lawfully present immigrant, waiting until you qualify for Medicare, think you cannot afford coverage or don’t need it because you are healthy, not working because you are a caregiver.
Our local Department of Health is another wealth of resources and information readily available to residents. Nutritional services, wellness programs, and WIC assistance are some of those areas.
In addition to many of the above partners, there are a number of organizations locally that can provide behavioral or mental health support if you or someone you know is struggling. Organizations such as Henderson Behavioral Health provide both inpatient, outpatient, virtual, in home and in person programs.
Parents and caregivers of young children can find more information and age specific resources and early learning information such as VPK and the school readiness program on the Early Learning Coalition website.
The Department of Children and Families has a resource page that can assist with Medicaid redetermination, refugee services, adult and children protective services, substance abuse and mental health support and they also are the lead of the HOPE Florida initiative. Hope Florida – A Pathway to Prosperity is an initiative of uniting communities through Hope Navigators to guide Floridians on an individualized path to prosperity, economic self-sufficiency and hope.
Broward County is lucky to have thousands of nonprofits working with government partners and businesses to improve the lives of residents, helping them live, work, play and learn better in our community.
Just know you are not alone.
