Emergency Public Assistance (Medicaid & Food Stamps)
Taking unpaid leave for chemotherapy usually drops earnings to zero, satisfying eligibility requirements for both state healthcare and expedited food assistance.
Emergency SNAP (Food Assistance)
Provides food benefits within 7 days instead of standard 30-day processing during active medical leave.
- Qualification: Triggered when housing costs (mortgage + utilities) exceed gross income and available cash.
- Chemo Exemption: Exempt from the 80 hr/mo work requirement via a simple medical incapacity form signed by your doctor.
Health First Colorado (Medicaid)
State healthcare coverage based on modified income, covering treatment costs, hospital visits, and medications.
- Income Limit: Approx. $1,769/month (single adult). Qualifies based on income drops regardless of home ownership or savings.
- Retroactive Coverage: Can cover unpaid medical bills up to 3 months prior to application month.
Cancer-Specific Financial Grants
Ray of Hope Cancer Foundation
Offers the Essential Needs Grant, providing direct $500 unrestricted cash awards to Colorado patients in active treatment to cover housing, utilities, and mortgage payments.
T. Grace Foundation
CLOSED!
Family Reach
Connects patients facing hardship with non-medical expense grants that pay mortgage servicers directly. (Submitted via hospital social workers).
Breast Cancer Specific Housing & Need Grants
Sense of Security
Colorado non-profit offering sustained aid ($500/mo for up to 6 months) for mortgage, housing, and utilities while undergoing active breast cancer treatment.
The Pink Fund
Provides 90-day grants that pay mortgages, housing costs, auto insurance, and utilities directly to creditors for patients in active treatment.
Living Beyond Breast Cancer
Offers need-based emergency grants ($500–$1,250) for breast cancer patients in active care to help cover living costs, including mortgage payments.
Susan G. Komen Helpline
Provides financial assistance grants for patients undergoing active breast cancer treatment to help offset household expenses.
United Breast Cancer Foundation
Offers individual grants for housing expenses, utilities, and daily necessities to ease financial stress during active care.
Local Pueblo Navigators & Basic Needs
Becky Baker Foundation (Pueblo Mall)
Hosts a completely free monthly "shopping center" at the Pueblo Mall providing clothing, household goods, personal care items, and supplies.
St. Mary-Corwin (Dorcy Cancer Center)
In-house Oncology Social Workers manage local emergency Patient Needs Funds and submit national grant applications on your behalf.
UCHealth Cancer Center – Pueblo
Social Work Navigators at Parkview Medical Center connect chemo patients directly to hardship funds for mortgage and basic housing assistance.
Mortgage & Loan Forbearance Options
Colorado Housing & Finance Authority (CHFA)
Offers direct hardship loss-mitigation tools—including medical forbearance—to temporarily pause or lower monthly mortgage payments for 1st-time buyers.
The links will sign you up for HARDSHIP Forebarence, cancer is a hardship. Please sign-up, then sign-in these are the direct links on CHFA website
NeighborWorks Southern Colorado
A local HUD-approved counseling agency offering free, confidential help navigating loan modifications, medical forbearance, and mortgage protection programs.