Also, check for apartment complexes that provide subsidized apartments. Some are publicly owned and ooerated by the local housing authority. Others are privately owned and usually operated for profit. It's true that, usually, you can get into one of these sooner (by a lot) than you can get approved for a Section 8 voucher.

There are people on housing assistance who pay as little as $25/mon. for their rent.

You would also be eligible for food stamps (probably more than you are getting now.) You also are eligible for subsidized telephone and Internet access. A land line and high speed Internet access would cost you about $35/mon. Plus you can get energy assistance, called LIHEAP, that will pay several hundred dollars annually to either your gas or electric company, whichever costs you the most. (A lot of people call this a "heating subsidy," but that's kind of a misnomer because the government doesn't care what you used it for . . . as long as it's a source of energy. In Florida, people might use it to pay high electric bills related to running their air conditioners.)