How do you handle bills on unemployment?

My income is now a fraction of what it was as an operations analyst and I am trying to cover the essentials. There are 17 people counting on me, so I am trying to be careful. The rent is fixed and the car payment is high. What helped you?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it last year, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.

Check for energy assistance programmes. I got a credit that covered two bills.