← CULTURE§ THE INDEX · 10 STORIES

Resources.

Programs, money, and help that's actually available.

§ RESOURCES

One Number That Maps All of It

Dial 211 and a person answers whose whole job is knowing every local program. It is free, it is confidential, it covers most of the country, and hardly anybody uses it.

§ RESOURCES

The Benefits Check Older Adults Skip

§ RESOURCES

The Housing List Is a Strategy, Not a Queue

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Food Help That Is Not SNAP

WIC, school meals, summer meals, senior boxes, food pantries and produce programs all run separately from SNAP, with separate rules. Losing one does not disqualify you from the others.

READ · 2 MIN →

§ RESOURCES

Veterans Are Leaving Money on the Table

Disability compensation, education benefits, home loans and healthcare go unclaimed at enormous scale, usually because a veteran was denied once decades ago and never filed again. Claims can be reopened.

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Childcare Costs More Than Rent. There Is Help.

Childcare assistance, Head Start, state preschool and school-age programs exist in every county and are rationed by waiting list, which means the date you apply matters more than almost anything else.

§ RESOURCES

The Discounts Nobody Advertises

§ RESOURCES

There Is a Free Lawyer for That

§ RESOURCES

LA County Has Money for Your Business

The county's Small Business Mobility Fund is handing out grants, not loans, to people opening and formalizing businesses. One program is open right now. Here is who qualifies and who to call.

READ · 3 MIN →

§ RESOURCES

The Free Form That Unlocks College Money

FAFSA is free to file, most students qualify for something, and skipping it is leaving money on a table you already own. Here is the form in plain words, and the three mistakes that cost families the most.