HUGS Charities
H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program · About this organization
What you get
Payments toward rent, mortgage, utilities, home or car insurance, car payments and repairs, plus food gift cards and gas for treatment trips. The amount isn't published. Ask.
How to start
You can prepare the application using the instructions on the downloadable form.
Good to know
- Requests are approved monthly.
The details, as published
The H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program provides temporary help to Marion County residents who are experiencing financial hardship while actively receiving cancer treatment in Florida. The program may address rent, mortgage, utilities, auto repairs, treatment-related gas, homeowners or car insurance, and car payments; bills are paid to the vendor and food or gas support is issued by gift card. Applicants download the form and provide treatment-center verification or a copy of the requested bill with its due date, and the organization says applications are processed every two to three weeks and approved monthly.
What help you may get
Household Bills And Cash Assistance
H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program — household bills and cash assistance
The H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program provides temporary help to Marion County residents who are experiencing financial hardship while actively receiving cancer treatment in Florida. The program may address rent, mortgage, utilities, auto repairs, treatment-related gas, homeowners or car insurance, and car payments; bills are paid to the vendor and food or gas support is issued by gift card. Applicants download the form and provide treatment-center verification or a copy of the requested bill with its due date, and the organization says applications are processed every two to three weeks and approved monthly.
Amount decided by the program
Can cover
- Auto repairs
- Car insurance
- Car payments
- Food gift cards
- Gas for travel to cancer treatment
- Homeowners insurance
- Mortgage
- Rent
- Utilities
Does not cover
- Cable bills
- Cell phones and cell-phone bills
- Internet bills
- Medical bills
- Medical debt
- The official page says the amount awarded depends on need and availability of funds.
- The official pages do not publish a repeat-assistance rule.
Meals And Food
H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program — meals and food
The H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program provides temporary help to Marion County residents who are experiencing financial hardship while actively receiving cancer treatment in Florida. The program may address rent, mortgage, utilities, auto repairs, treatment-related gas, homeowners or car insurance, and car payments; bills are paid to the vendor and food or gas support is issued by gift card. Applicants download the form and provide treatment-center verification or a copy of the requested bill with its due date, and the organization says applications are processed every two to three weeks and approved monthly.
Amount decided by the program
Can cover
- Auto repairs
- Car insurance
- Car payments
- Food gift cards
- Gas for travel to cancer treatment
- Homeowners insurance
- Mortgage
- Rent
- Utilities
Does not cover
- Cable bills
- Cell phones and cell-phone bills
- Internet bills
- Medical bills
- Medical debt
- The official page says the amount awarded depends on need and availability of funds.
- The official pages do not publish a repeat-assistance rule.
Travel And Transportation
H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program — travel and transportation
The H.U.G.S Patient Assistance Program provides temporary help to Marion County residents who are experiencing financial hardship while actively receiving cancer treatment in Florida. The program may address rent, mortgage, utilities, auto repairs, treatment-related gas, homeowners or car insurance, and car payments; bills are paid to the vendor and food or gas support is issued by gift card. Applicants download the form and provide treatment-center verification or a copy of the requested bill with its due date, and the organization says applications are processed every two to three weeks and approved monthly.
Amount decided by the program
Can cover
- Auto repairs
- Car insurance
- Car payments
- Food gift cards
- Gas for travel to cancer treatment
- Homeowners insurance
- Mortgage
- Rent
- Utilities
Does not cover
- Cable bills
- Cell phones and cell-phone bills
- Internet bills
- Medical bills
- Medical debt
- The official page says the amount awarded depends on need and availability of funds.
- The official pages do not publish a repeat-assistance rule.
- The published monetary limit is shared across the listed benefit components.
Why this may help
Household Bills And Cash Assistance: Rent, utilities and insurance bills can be paid alongside help with food and treatment travel.
Meals And Food: Food gift cards can cover groceries within the broader patient-assistance benefit.
Travel And Transportation: Fuel, car payments, insurance and repairs can help you keep making trips for cancer care.
Check the main eligibility rules
Diagnosis
B-ALL is in scope. The official program accepts individuals with any cancer diagnosis and publishes no age exclusion; pediatric B-ALL is within the diagnosis scope, although the numerical age rule is not published.
Age
The program does not publish an age limit.
- The official page refers to individuals and publishes no numerical age rule.
Treatment status
No specific treatment status is published.
- Provider confirmation is not published as mandatory.
- Treatment-center verification that the applicant is currently under care is one accepted documentation route; the page alternatively permits a copy of the bill being requested.
Financial need is required.
- The official page requires financial hardship but publishes no numerical income limit.
- The amount awarded depends on need and availability of funds.
Where you live and where your child is treated
Where your family lives
You must live in: Marion County.
- The applicant must reside in Marion County, Florida.
Where your child is treated
Treatment must be connected to: The applicant must be actively receiving cancer treatment in Florida..
- The applicant must be actively receiving cancer treatment in Florida.
How to get started
Does a social worker or care team need to start it? No. A required care-team start is not published; the family can use the available route below.
Who can start: Caregiver, Parent Or Guardian, Patient
- Download and complete the application linked from the official program page.
- H.U.G.S reviews and processes applicants every two to three weeks and approves applications monthly.
- Provide treatment-center verification that the applicant is currently under care for cancer, or provide a copy of the bill requested with its due date.
- Submit the application using the instructions on the downloadable form.
Ways to apply or ask
- Email · hugspatientsassistance@gmail.com — Email for questions about a pending application.
- Online Portal · Open form or page
- Phone · 352-369-8210 — The official homepage says volunteers check this voicemail weekly.
Documents to prepare
- Completed H.U.G.S application
- Treatment-center verification of current cancer care, or a copy of the requested bill showing its due date
- Approved bills are paid directly to the agency, business, or company providing the service.
- Approved food and gas assistance is issued by gift card.
Availability and timing
| Program | Active |
|---|---|
| Applications | Open |
| Funding or space | Fund Dependent |
| Application window | Rolling |
| Last checked | Aug 23, 2026 |
- Award amount depends on availability of funds.
- The official page linked an updated 2026 application and described ongoing monthly approvals.
- The application is continuously linked; approvals occur monthly.
- Applicants should account for the published two-to-three-week processing cycle.
- Applicants are reviewed and processed every two to three weeks; applications are approved monthly.
Limitations and things to confirm
- Medical bills and medical debt are not covered.
- The applicant must reside in Marion County and receive active cancer treatment in Florida.
- The official pages do not publish an age limit, award ceiling, or repeat-award rule.
- What age limits, if any, apply to the Patient Assistance Program?
- What is the current maximum award and how often may a household receive assistance?
- What languages other than English are available for applicants?
- Which income or financial-hardship documents, if any, are required?
Official sources
Program details were last verified Aug 23, 2026. Availability can change, so check the official program before applying.
- Apply — HUGS · checked Aug 23, 2026
- HUGS · checked Aug 23, 2026