In south Florida they would hand you a piece of paper of all the homeless shelters in the area if you couldn't afford rent. There was no section 8 housing. I can't remember any agencies that helped people pay rent. I know because I use to help people fight eviction, even if it was a slum lord, they would evict you if you didn't put the rent money in the court registry.The only ones that would help would be the Red Cross, if you had a fire or storm damage, they would help you out for 3 days. It's been a couple of years, I hope things changed.

http://portal.hud.gov/portal/page/po...tal_assistance