The purpose of this project was to explore the coping patterns of people denied public assistance. The primary focus was on resources available and used by those denied to assist them in the situation that led them to apply for public assistance in the first place. A review of the literature revealed that very little is known concerning those denied public assistance. This project is one of the first to study the problem of how those denied manage after denial. The data for this project was gathered by the use of an interview schedule administered in personal interviews with those in the sample. The data was then analyzed using frequency distributions and percentage compositions. When appropriate, chi square statistics were computed. The major finding of this exploratory study is that those denied public assistance have-very few resources available to them to assist them in their coping patterns. Frequently those denied become eligible very soon after initial denial. Very few seek help elsewhere after denial although most of those who do receive helpful assistance. Implications are that more referrals by the intake staff at the public welfare agency would lead to more of those denied receiving helpful assistance elsewhere. Because this project is one of the first to study those denied public assistance, the findings are limited by the fact that there are no previous research findings available for comparison. Another limitation is that only one quarter of the original sample could be contacted. Because of these limitations, more research in the area is indicated. Suggestions are made for future research.