FIND SUPPORT
Helpful Resources
Explore our list of resources for New Hampshire and York County, Maine kinship families below or check out your town or city's website for a list of local resources.
NEW HAMPSHIRE
General Assistance
211 NH is the connection for New Hampshire residents to the most up to date resources they need from specially trained Information and Referral Specialists. 211 NH is available 24 hours, 365 days a year.
Multilingual assistance and TDD access is also available. For those outside of New Hampshire, call 1.866.444.4211.
New Hampshire Community Action Partnership
NHCAP connects neighbors in need with resources and supports to help them thrive. We serve as a vital hub for information about Community Action programs available throughout our state. We help clients learn about services available and connect them to their local agency so they can quickly access the support they need.
We educate community leaders, elected officials and the general public about issues of poverty that impact all of us. We advocate for solutions that help alleviate the causes and conditions of poverty, ultimately leading to a better community for all New Hampshire residents.
Each of our member Community Action agencies provides immediate solutions to their neighbors in need, ranging from preventing homelessness with emergency rent assistance, to assuring our youngest community members get the best start in life through quality early learning.
New Hampshire’s gateway to apply for cash, medical, SNAP (food assistance), child care and other assistance. Online accounts can be created so participants can apply for, view, and manage benefits online.
New Hampshire Kinship Caregiver Resource Guide
The Kinship & Relative Caregiver Guide is designed to help grandfamilies and other relative caregivers understand kinship care support options and access community-based services through local Kinship Navigators.
New Hampshire GrandFacts - State Fact Sheet
The GrandFacts state fact sheets for grandfamilies include state-specific data and programs as well as information about public benefits, educational assistance, legal relationship options, and state laws.
New Hampshire Adult and Aging Care
The Bureau of Elderly and Adult Services (BEAS) provides a variety of social and long-term supports to adults age 60 and older and to adults between the ages of 18 and 60 who have a chronic illness or disability.
A variety of social and long-term services and supports can be accessed through the ServiceLink Resource Centers and the NH DHHS District Offices. Services and supports are intended to assist people to live as independently as possible in safety and with dignity.
Food Assistance
The New Hampshire Food Bank, a program of Catholic Charities New Hampshire, serves as the only food bank in the state, works to provide nutritious food and resources to the hundreds of thousands of New Hampshire residents that are food insecure. The Food Bank supplies millions of pounds of food annually to more than 400 partner agencies, including food pantries, homeless shelters, soup kitchens, children’s programs, senior centers and more. In turn, these agencies provide hunger relief to those suffering from food insecurity throughout the state.
List of NH Food Pantries, Soup Kitchens, and Shelters, by county, in New Hampshire.
New Hampshire Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) provides a monthly benefit to help low-income households purchase nutritious food.
Fuel Assistance
New Hampshire Low Income Home Energy Assistance
The Home Energy Assistance (HEA) Program serves New Hampshire's income-eligible homeowners and renters to help reduce their energy costs, optimize their homes' energy performance and make their homes safer, healthier and more comfortable.
The program covers 100% of the cost to weatherize the homes of income-eligible homeowners and renters and replace inefficient equipment. Eligibility is determined by total household income and the number of household members.
Reach out to the Community Action Agency (CAA) in your county and ask about getting qualified for the HEA program.
Health Assistance
New Hampshire Healthy Families
NH Healthy Families provides the same benefits as Medicaid, plus more. Learn about the health benefits, pharmacy services, and value-added services NH Healthy Families offers.
New Hampshire Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics
The mission of the New Hampshire Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (the New Hampshire Pediatric Society, "NHPS") is to unite the pediatric community and the community at large around innovative solutions to the most critical challenges facing the children in New Hampshire, their families, and the pediatricians who care for them.
NAMI-NH (New Hampshire National Alliance on Mental Illness)
NAMI New Hampshire is a grassroots organization working to improve the quality of life for all by providing support, education and advocacy for people affected by mental illness and suicide.
Comprised of a network of affiliate chapters and support groups, staff and volunteers, NAMI NH provides information, education, and support to all families and communities affected by mental illness and suicide.
Summer Camp
New Hampshire Summer Camps Directory
Browse the New Hampshire Camps Directory and find the camp that's a perfect match for your child.
SOUTHERN MAINE
General Assistance
211 Maine is the connection for Maine residents to the most up to date resources they need from specially trained Information and Referral Specialists. 211 Maine is available 24 hours, 365 days a year.
For those outside of Maine, call 1.877.463.6207.
Adoptive & Foster Families of Maine
Adoptive and Foster Families of Maine, Inc. & the Kinship Program (AFFM) provides support services for adoptive, foster, and kinship families.
AFFM’s Mission is to provide the training, guidance, knowledge, and resources needed to handle complex issues encountered by resource families as they open their hearts and homes to children in need.
Maine Community Action Partnership
Maine Community Action Partnership (MeCAP) is a statewide organization dedicated to improving the quality of life of Maine people by advocating for, promoting and supporting the work of the Maine community action agencies.
Community Action changes people’s lives, embodies the spirit of hope, improves communities, and makes Maine a better place to live. We care about the entire community, and we are dedicated to helping people help themselves and each other.
Maine Kinship Families Resource Guide
The Kinship & Relative Caregiver Guide is designed to help grandfamilies and other relative caregivers understand kinship care support options and access community-based services through local Kinship Navigators.
Maine GrandFacts - State Fact Sheet
The GrandFacts state fact sheets for grandfamilies include state-specific data and programs as well as information about public benefits, educational assistance, legal relationship options, and state laws.
Maine Local Area Agencies on Aging
Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) are experts at answering questions about in-home care services and other types of long-term support. Maine’s five AAAs are also Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) that:
provide information and assistance to individuals needing either public or private long-term care resources,
serve professionals seeking assistance on behalf of their clients’ long-term care needs,
serve individuals planning for their future long-term care needs, and
serve as the entry point to publicly administered long-term supports including those funded under Medicaid, the Older Americans Act and state funded programs.
Maine’s Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRC) are designed to serve all older adults, people with disabilities, and their care partners who have long-term care community or program needs.
Fuel Assistance
MaineHousing Home Energy Assistance Program
Assistance with heating costs for homeowners and renters; emergency assistance funds for fuel delivery may be available through Maine’s Heating Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).
Health Resources
If you can’t afford to pay for medical care right now, MaineCare can make it possible for you to get the care that you need so that you can get healthy – and stay healthy.
Click here for more information about MaineCare or to get a MaineCare application.
Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides Federal grants to States for supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education for low-income pregnant, breastfeeding, and non-breastfeeding postpartum women, and to infants and children up to age five who are found to be at nutritional risk. For more information about WIC and how to apply please click here.
Through support, education, and advocacy NAMI Maine is dedicated to building better lives for the 1 in 4 Mainers who are affected by mental illness. NAMI Maine offers respite services to eligible families. Check out their website ( https://www.namimaine.org/ ) for more information.
Benefits of Receiving Respite
Families receive up to 16 hours of caregiver support each month
Planned breaks offered by a provider network, trained to serve children with disabilities and special needs
Action plans are developed for each child to support any current action or treatment plan
Families choose providers from an online directory of comprehensive profiles
Other family members, friends, and neighbors with an existing connection to approved children are encouraged to become certified providers
Program Eligibility
Each child must be under the age of 18 years old and be diagnosed with:
Two or more significant delays (6-months) in areas of development; or
An emotional disability; or
A behavioral disability
Please click here to learn more about NAMI-Maine’s Respite Program.
