During tough economic times, with companies laying off employees, cutting back hours, and increasing job responsibilities, people are feeling the financial pinch. As the economy struggles, so do people struggle to make ends meet. If things get tight, paying bills might end up taking a backseat to feeding your family.

There are government, welfare and charity programs available to assist people who are in temporary financial trouble to pay their utility bills and keep their water, heat and lights on. These programs generally offer only one-time assistance to help people over hurdles, but some programs do provide long-term assistance to those with low income and high expenses.

When the bills pile up and termination notices loom, you need to learn how to find utility bill payment assistance to help you get back in control of your finances.

In this video, the city portrayed here offers specific programs that are funded through donations people make when paying their own utility bills. The donations can be as small as one dollar per bill payment cycle. While that might not seem like much, if 10,000 customers offered $1 on their bills, that's $10,000 of utility assistance available to those in need.

Many cities offer similar programs to this one. If you are unsure, contact your utility provider to ask if they offer this service.

If you are low income and that is not going to change any time soon, consider taking advantage of the government assistance programs for people with low incomes.

Food Stamp Assistance (SNAP)

If you are needing assistance making ends meet, and are struggling to feed your family, you might consider applying for SNAP, a government nutritional assistance program. The more money you receive in food and nutrition assistance, the more cash you have to spend on your utility bills.

Medicaid

If medical bills are taking a large portion of your income, and you don't have medical insurance, you might consider applying for Medicaid to help take some of the medical bill burden away from your household budget, leaving more for paying your utility bills.

The Public Utility Commission for your state might have assistance programs to help you with your utility bills. These programs are for people with low-incomes or people with disabilities, and they help cover utility costs during rough financial times, or can help a person get caught up on past due bills. These programs can help consolidate the past-due bill, allowing you to pay it out as an extra payment added to your next 12 month's of bills, or can actually reduce your costs for service.

For example, the program in Texas, but the PUC, is called the Lite-Up Texas Program. This program offers: "17% off of the rate for the Provider of Last Resort in your territory. This should equal a little more than 17% off of the electric charges on your electric bill excluding taxes and fees." http://www.puc.state.tx.us/ocp/assist/liteup/solix.cfm

Some public utility assistance programs also help pay your telephone bill, by providing a discount on the basic line charge. Check with your local PUC for more information. To find the provider of assistance in your state, enter "Public Utility Commission Utility Bill Assistance (YOUR STATE)" into the search engine and find the program for the state in which you reside.

If you are needing temporary assistance paying your utility bills, a charitable organization or church might be able to provide a one-time payment to help you get current on your bill or to prevent a termination notice.

Funds for these charitable organizations are often limited, and there is usually a waiting list for bill paying services, so it's important to contact them as soon as you know you're not going to be able to pay your bill, so they have more time to help you before a termination notice is issued. Most of these agencies will not assist you once your utility services are disconnected for non-payment.

Some charitable organizations that might be able to help with utility bill payment assistance include by are not limited to:

• Salvation Army
• Catholic Charities
• United Way or United Way Related Agencies
• Church Community Outreach Programs
• Local Churches

Welfare programs and agencies in your city or state might offer utility assistance programs. The programs will vary by state and municipality, so be sure to call and ask what assistance if available to you.

If there is no utility welfare assistance program in your state or city, the Human Services Department should be able to provide you with a list of local charitable organizations that can help with your utility bills.