Local resources to help you out
Now that you are all settled in to your new home and community you need to start checking out all the local resources that are available to you. Hospital, doctor, dentist are the main ones but what if you need food assistance, special needs for a loved one, college classes, home-school information? Hopefully you already had a job lined up before you moved to a rural area, but if not there are services available for that too. Just because you are in that rural area doesn’t mean there is nothing available to help you.
Where to start?
The best place to start is to make a list of what resources you and your family need. Then start doing your homework, here’s a list of some places to check out first.
- School offices can have a wealth of information available to you for your children’s needs or adult education classes
- Public library is a great place to check out, besides books, a lot of the time they will have pamphlets and brochures for local resources available. Another good plus is sometimes they will have tax forms you will need without having to order them when the dreaded tax day arrives!
- Convention centers
- Museums
- Town offices will have a list of all licensed businesses
- Bulletin boards at the post office, you can apply for your passports here too
- Bulletin boards at the local grocery stores
- Check to see if there is a community college nearby
- Cooperative extension agencies are a wealth of information from 4-H programs to soil testing so you can plant your garden.
- Research what your county offices offer: health and human services, services for seniors, emergency preparedness even plot maps of your property.
- Local organizations have many family assistance programs: Lions Clubs help with glasses, see if one of the organizations offers a child find program where you can get your kids fingerprints done, or does your local sheriff’s office do this.
- Most of the local churches have family oriented programs available as well as food drive programs
- Check with your local Salvation Army for more food needs.
- Stop by the local newspaper office to see what jobs are listed
- When you are online check to see if your area has local yard sale pages on Facebook, this is usually where you can find postings for community activities. It’s also a great place if you need to buy furniture or clothing for your home and family. Buying new is wonderful but sometimes it isn’t practical for your budget.
Let me know what other kind of resources you found in your community. Talk to you soon.
