Find Assistance in Lafayette County
If you live in Lafayette County and are in need of assistance to help pay your rent, mortgage, and/or utilities, the primary agencies to call are:
LIFT, Inc: 662-238-6222
LIFT, Inc. serves as the designated community action agency for Lafayette County.
Interfaith Compassion Ministry: 662-236-3482
The agency’s director is currently working from home rather than the office and can be reached at the number listed above.
Doors of Hope Transition Ministries: 662-234-1100
Doors of Hope’s assistance programs are specific to families with minor children and you can click here to visit the agency’s website.
If you live in Lafayette County and are either homeless or at imminent risk of becoming homeless, the main resources to contact are:
Project THRIVE: 662-816-2146
This is a resource coordination program through Communicare for those who are either homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Project THRIVE serves as a single point of entry in order to streamline the referral process, reduce barriers to housing, and effectively utilize existing local resources.
Interfaith Compassion Ministry: 662-236-3482
The agency seeks to stabilize homeless individuals and families in our community by providing emergency assistance for those in crisis situations, including those impacted by domestic violence. Many local churches to give funding to the agency in order for it to function as a one-stop resources for local residents in need of emergency assistance.
Doors of Hope Transition Ministries: 662-234-1100
Click here to visit the agency’s website, which includes an online application and its eligibility requirements as its programming is specific to families with minor children.
The Red Shield Lodge (Tupelo, MS): 662-842-9222
Lafayette County does not have a homeless shelter. So, The Red Shield Lodge in Tupelo is the nearest long-term shelter to our community.
SAFE, Inc. (Tupelo, MS): 662-841-9105
SAFE, Inc. is a domestic violence center, rape crisis center, and a homeless services provider in Tupelo for those impacted by domestic violence. Click here to view the agency’s website.
Memphis Union Mission (Memphis, TN): 901-526-8403
Memphis Union Mission is a homeless shelter multiple Mid-South locations in the Memphis area. Click here to visit the organization’s website.
If you live in Lafayette County and are in need of food-related assistance, some prospective entities to contact are:
The Pantry: 662-832-8001
The Pantry serves as the primary resource for Lafayette County residents in need of food-related assistance. The Pantry is open to those under the age of 65 on Wednesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. It is open for those 65 and older on Thursday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
Oxford Community Market: 662-816-7413
The agency seeks to reduce food insecurity by improving access to fresh, healthy, local food by mitigating barriers as well as improving knowledge on how to grow and prepare fresh produce. The United Way of Oxford-Lafayette County helps fund the agency’s Fresh Food for Everyone program.
More Than A Meal: 662-816-8496
The organization provides free meals at the Stone Center on Washington Avenue at 5:00 p.m. each Tuesday that Oxford School District is in session. In addition to providing free, nutritious meals, the agency offers fellowship, encouragement, and a sense of community along with so much more.
If you live in Lafayette County and are in need of assistance related to mental health or substance abuse, the regional mental health center is:
Communicare: 662-234-7521
Communicare is the community mental health center that serves Calhoun, Lafayette, Marshall, Panola, Tate, and Yalobusha counties in northern Mississippi. Click here to visit the agency’s website and learn more about its services.
If you live in Lafayette County and need additional assistance, please click on the links below to find potential resources:
findhelplafayettecounty.org
Mississippi Access to Care Network for Elderly & Disabled Residents
211 Mississippi
If you don’t live in Lafayette County, please dial 2-1-1.
If you are currently in need of direct financial or emergency assistance and you do not live in Lafayette County, please call the 2-1-1 Help Line. Dial 2-1-1- from your phone between 7:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m., six days a week (every day but Sunday) for information on health and human services available throughout the State of Mississippi. You can also find help at your county’s local United Way.
2-1-1 is an easy to remember phone number that connects individuals with resources in their community.
With hundreds of non-profit organizations in Mississippi plus scores of government agencies, finding help can be confusing and intimidating. The 2-1-1 Mississippi center is staffed by trained specialists who quickly assess the callers’ needs and refer them to the help they seek. It’s accessible to everyone anonymously at no cost and even has multilingual capabilities.
2-1-1 enables all Mississippians to get help.
Since its start in 2006, 2-1-1 Mississippi has referred thousands of callers to the help they were seeking. 2-1-1 Mississippi offers information on a broad range of services, including rent assistance, utility payment assistance, food banks, affordable housing, homeless shelters, health resources, childcare, after-school programs, elderly care, free tax preparation services, financial literacy, and job training programs.
2-1-1 enhances public safety and crisis recovery efforts.
In the wake of the Hurricane Gustav in 2008, more than 11,800 Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama residents called 2-1-1 Mississippi with a multitude of needs, including shelter, transportation, medical, food and water, construction materials, mental health, and questions about the availability of and application process for federal, state, and nonprofit assistance. 9-1-1 referred non-emergency calls to 2-1-1, freeing up 9-1-1 operators for crisis situations.
2-1-1 serves as a communication hub for United Way’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program.
Every year during tax season 2-1-1 Mississippi partners with United Way on its free income tax service. Call specialists schedule appointments, screen for Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) eligibility, and provide interested callers with other information such as locations and hours of operation.