That Section 8 voucher is the best thing for you to try to get. It's a federal program through HUD, so you can apply no matter what state you live in. As Hairball, above, says, go to your local housing authority and apply.

Unfortunately, there is a waiting list and it can be a few years long. I think I was on the list about 4 years. I have even heard that, in some high-demand localities, the list can be closed to new applicants, when it gets beyond a certain length.

The waiting absolutely sucks, I know, but get on it, if you can. Once you get it, you pay no more than 1/3rd of your income in rent. Some recipients are even allowed to pay just a nominal sum of between $5 and $25 per month. The federal government pays the rest of the rent. How expensive an apartment they will let you get depends on the cost of living where you live. Example: a Section 8 subsidy for a person in San Diego, CA, will be a lot higher than for that same person, if they lived in Rolla, Missouri.

A lot of landlords are quite happy to rent to tenants who have a Section 8 voucher. They know that check from HUD will be coming right to them directly every month, as long as they maintain their property in decent condition.

Living with relatives, out of financial necessity, is an absolutely awful position to be in. You have my profoundest condolences. It is true that relatives don't want you, if you are not a source of some financial gain to them.

The programs you are describing are not the only ones out there. That Section 8 voucher program is the one to shoot for. It sounds like you may not be aware of it. I have it. I can move anywhere in the United States and take my "voucher" with me. It is a portable federal benefit. Of course, the availability of apartments open to voucher holders can vary from place to place. Greenwich, CT, may have zero supply of those apartments. But I will pay the same rent no matter where I go with my voucher.

The option of moving is mentioned above. I know that can seem like like an overwhelmingly difficult challenge. Still, you might want to entertain the thought of doing so. I once spent 3 months living in a shelter. While I was there, I met women who had traveled to my city just to stay in this shelter and apply for help here. My city has a fairly low cost of living and a comparatively large supply of low rent apartments in reasonably safe neighborhoods. My brother actually moved here from Chattanooga, TN, where he had been homeless because I advised him that he might get off the street more easily here. It went pretty much as I had predicted, and he got into a decent housing situation.

Anna, I hope you find a way out of your present circumstances, which I can easily believe must feel pretty distressing.