Many kinds of help
USAGov Benefit Finder
Answer a few basic questions and get a list of public benefits that may fit your life event.
Open the finder ↗Household note No. 01 · United States
Hard month?
Start here.
No pep talk. No magic check. Just clear little guides to the real offices that may be able to help with food, heat, health costs, housing, work, and taxes.
Our house rule: never send private papers to a random website. Start at the official office.
Start here 7 minute read
Today’s useful thing
Need help, but do not know the program name? Start with this one sheet.
Before you fill out twelve forms, make one household note and use the official benefit finder. It saves a lot of wrong turns.
Pick a drawer
What are you trying to sort out?
The real doors
Official places worth bookmarking
These links go to the agency or official service. We do not get paid when you click them.
Food
Your state SNAP office
SNAP applications go through the state where you live. This page finds that office.
Find the state office ↗Heat & power
LIHEAP local office finder
Find the local office that takes home-energy help applications in your area.
Find local help ↗Housing
HUD housing counselor
Search for a HUD-participating housing counseling agency or call 800-569-4287.
Find a counselor ↗Health
Medicaid & CHIP
Check public health coverage and get sent to the right state application.
Check coverage ↗Medicare
Medicare cost help
See Medicare Savings Programs, Extra Help, and the official state contacts.
See cost help ↗Job loss
State unemployment office
Unemployment insurance is run by each state. Start with the office for the state where you worked.
Find the state ↗After a disaster
DisasterAssistance.gov
Check a declared disaster, apply for federal help, and track an application.
Check disaster help ↗No match. Try a shorter word.
Fresh from the folder
More plain-English guides
Food & bills 6 minute read
A big heat or power bill? LIHEAP is the name to write down.
This home-energy program is real, local, and different in every state. Here is how to find the right office without wandering through ads.
Food & bills 7 minute read
SNAP starts with your state. Here is what happens after you hit apply.
The form, interview, proof, and wait make more sense when you know the order. Keep your submission date.
Health costs 7 minute read
That Medicare premium may have a helper: ask about an MSP.
Medicare Savings Programs can be easy to miss because the state runs the application. The federal page says to apply even if you are not sure.
Home & utilities 6 minute read
Drafty house? Weatherization help is not the same as bill help.
LIHEAP may help with a bill. Weatherization may help fix the home that keeps making the bill. Homeowners and renters can ask.
Food & bills 5 minute read
Lifeline may trim a phone or internet bill. It is one benefit per household.
The old Affordable Connectivity Program ended. Lifeline is a different program and still has its own official application.
Work & taxes 6 minute read
Worked but made less? Check the EITC before you skip filing.
Some people miss the Earned Income Tax Credit because they do not think they need to file. The IRS has a free checker.
Home & utilities 6 minute read
Before you pay a ‘mortgage rescue’ company, call a HUD housing counselor.
A real housing counselor can help with rent, buying, default, foreclosure, and more. Foreclosure, eviction, and homeless counseling are free.
Health costs 6 minute read
Medicaid and CHIP do not wait for open enrollment.
You can apply any time of year. Children may qualify even when the adults in the same house do not.
A note
from the desk
from the desk
We made the site we wanted when the mail got scary.
Benefit pages can feel like a filing cabinet fell on you. So we read the official page, pull out the part you need, and tell you what to keep beside the phone.
We do not decide who gets help. We do not take applications. We do not sell your name. We just point toward the right door and tell you what the sign says.
— The Relief Program desk