Where to start › Who helps me locally
Who helps me locally?
This may be the most useful page on the site. In every state there are people whose actual job is to help families like yours — for free, with no product to sell. Most people never learn they exist. Here they are, and what each one is for.
Area Agency on Aging (AAA)
Your local hub for everything aging. AAAs provide free options counseling — a real person who walks through your situation and points you to services: in-home help, meals, transportation, caregiver support, respite. Reach any AAA in the country through the federal Eldercare Locator: 1-800-677-1116 or eldercare.acl.gov (Administration for Community Living).
SHIP — free Medicare counseling
The State Health Insurance Assistance Program gives free, unbiased, one-on-one help with Medicare — what's covered, plan choices, appeals, and bills. Not a sales line. Find your state's SHIP at shiphelp.org.
State Medicaid office / ADRC — where you apply
Long-term-care Medicaid is run by your state, often through an Aging & Disability Resource Center (ADRC) or the state Medicaid agency. This is where the actual application, the income and asset limits, and the waiver programs live. Your AAA can point you to the right office — and as we build out each state, this is the contact we'll put on your state's page.
Long-Term Care Ombudsman — the resident's advocate
An independent, federally mandated advocate for people living in nursing homes and assisted living. If you suspect a resident's rights, safety, or care are being mishandled — including an improper discharge — the Ombudsman investigates and helps resolve it. Find yours at ltcombudsman.org.
State-specific contacts are coming
We're building a per-state directory of these offices with direct phone numbers, on the same discipline as the rest of the site — verified and dated. Until your state's page is live, the numbers above reach the right help everywhere in the country.