Everything you need, at your fingertips.
From Harlem down to the courts on Centre Street. Below are 78 free programs that serve Manhattan — 6 of them with an address in the borough, the rest citywide. Every link goes straight to the application or the phone number.
78 free resources. What you type here is never recorded.
Answer a few questions and it shows you every city, state and federal benefit you can get. Takes about 10 minutes. No account, no name, nothing saved.
Also in Spanish, Chinese, Bengali, Russian, Haitian Creole, Korean, Arabic, Urdu, French and Polish.
One form applies you for SNAP (food stamps), Cash Assistance and Medicaid at the same time.
The city's help line for anything you cannot find here. Free, 24 hours, over 175 languages.
New York's largest soup kitchen. A hot meal every weekday, holidays included. No questions, no paperwork, just come.
296 Ninth Avenue, New York, NY 10001
Monthly money on a card for groceries. If you qualify for emergency processing you can get benefits in about 5 days.
Not sure if you qualify? Check first at access.nyc.gov.
Shows the food pantries closest to you and lets you reserve a slot so you are not standing in line.
No smartphone? Text the word FOOD to 726879 from any phone.
Nearly 800 pantries, soup kitchens and mobile pantries across the five boroughs. Search by your ZIP code.
The city's own list of emergency food programs, plus how to get help applying for SNAP.
Free healthy food, formula, breastfeeding support and health referrals. You can qualify even if you work.
Breakfast and lunch are free for every NYC public school student. No form, no income check.
Free help with back rent, landlord problems, and one-time emergency money to keep you in your apartment. Go here before you lose the place.
There is a Homebase office in every borough.
If you got court papers, you have a right to a free lawyer in every NYC ZIP code. Immigration status does not matter.
A one-time grant for back rent, a security deposit, movers, or a utility shutoff. Apply through ACCESS HRA.
Intake is open 24 hours. Men: 8 East 3rd St, Manhattan. Women: 114 Snediker Ave, Brooklyn or 1122 Franklin Ave, Bronx. Adult families: 333 Bowery, Manhattan. Families with children: PATH, 151 East 151st St, Bronx.
These addresses changed in August 2026. Call 311 to confirm before you travel.
Free advice line if you are behind on rent, in Housing Court, or facing a lockout. They explain what the papers mean.
The city's official list of income-restricted apartments. Free to apply. Set up one profile and enter as many lotteries as you want.
There is never a fee for an HPD or HDC housing application. Anyone charging you is a scam.
Apply for public housing and check where you stand on the waitlist.
The city's guide to your rights as a tenant, repairs, harassment and rent arrears help.
A city voucher that pays most of your rent every month. For people in shelter or at risk of losing their home.
Homebase can help you apply. Start there if you are not in shelter yet.
Monthly cash for rent, food and basics if you have little or no income. Same application as SNAP.
Half off subway, eligible buses and Access-A-Ride. Open to New Yorkers 16 to 84 at or below 145% of the federal poverty line.
Fair Fares now issues OMNY cards instead of MetroCards.
File your taxes free with an IRS-certified preparer and keep the whole refund. Roughly $68,000 or less filing single, $97,000 or less with family.
Sit down one-on-one with a counselor about debt, credit, budgeting or opening a bank account. Free, in every borough, no matter your income.
Pays part of your heating or cooling bill, and can fix or replace a broken furnace or air conditioner. Money goes straight to the utility.
Application windows open and close each season. Call to check what is open now.
Set up a payment agreement, stop a shutoff, or apply for bill credits.
A free government photo ID for anyone 10 and up living in NYC. Immigration status does not matter. Gets you into banks, clinics, schools and museums.
Where to go in person for Cash Assistance, SNAP and Medicaid if you cannot do it online. There are centers in every borough.
Apply for retirement, SSI or disability benefits. You can start the application online and finish by phone.
Payment plans, budget billing and low-income discounts if your gas bill is behind.
File the week you lose your job. Do not wait. You file once, then certify every week to get paid.
Telephone Claims Center, Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm. Press 9 for an interpreter.
You have to certify every single week or you do not get paid, even after you are approved.
Denied, stuck, overpaid, or waiting too long. This is where you push back and where you appeal.
Free job placement, resume and interview coaching, and training grants on 125th Street in Harlem.
215 West 125th Street, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10027
Free job placement help in every borough, run by the city. No cost, ever.
City jobs with benefits, plus in-person hiring halls where you can interview the same day.
Free 12 to 15 week training in IT support, cybersecurity, cloud and software engineering, with job placement after. No tuition.
Free year-long training plus a paid corporate internship for adults 18 to 29 with a high school diploma or equivalency.
Housing, benefits, mental health and job help for veterans and their families.
For adults who started college and stopped. CUNY helps you re-enroll, clear old balances and finish the degree.
Free business counseling at Baruch College. Business plans, loan packaging and licensing help at no cost.
Baruch College, 55 Lexington Avenue, Room 2-140, New York, NY 10010
The city's business portal. Walks you through licenses, permits, free courses, and connects you to financing.
Federal loans, microloans, disaster loans and surety bonds. The SBA does not usually lend directly, it guarantees the loan so a bank will say yes.
Real SBA grants are rare and go to specific programs. Anyone who charges you a fee to get an SBA grant is a scam.
Find the free counselors, mentors and lenders nearest you, including the New York district office.
Certify your business as minority or woman-owned and get access to city contracts set aside for M/WBEs. Free to apply.
Free mentoring from retired and working executives. You can meet the same mentor for as long as you need.
A nonprofit lender and top SBA lender in New York. Works with owners banks turn down.
Nonprofit small business loans and free coaching in English and Spanish, built for owners without perfect credit.
Free homework help, after-school programs, English and equivalency classes, public computers and wifi. Branches across the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island.
Search by your address for free after-school, sports, arts, tutoring and summer programs. This is the fastest way to find something for your kid this week.
Three hours a day, five days a week, including school holidays. Homework help, STEM, arts and sports. Every NYC student is eligible.
Membership is free for anyone under 25 and for seniors. Gyms, indoor pools, classes and open gym time year round.
Every summer the city opens free outdoor pools in all five boroughs. No membership needed, even at pools next to a rec center.
Free swim instruction for kids and adults at city pools. Spots fill fast, so sign up the day registration opens.
Free full-day summer program for public school students in kindergarten through 8th grade. Academics in the morning, trips and activities after.
A paid summer job for ages 14 to 24. The biggest youth jobs program in the country. Applications usually open in the winter for the coming summer.
Apply for free or low-cost child care and see if you qualify for a voucher. One city account handles it.
Food, clothing, laundry, a shower, counseling and emergency shelter. You do not have to be homeless and you do not need documents.
Low-cost and no-cost care at NYC Health + Hospitals for New Yorkers who cannot get or afford insurance. No premiums. Immigration status does not matter and is not recorded.
Apply for Medicaid, the Essential Plan, Child Health Plus or a subsidized plan. Many New Yorkers pay nothing.
Public hospitals and neighborhood clinics in every borough. They treat you regardless of ability to pay.
Call or text 988 any time, free and confidential, for you or for someone you are worried about.
Free treatment referrals, free naloxone, and syringe services. No insurance needed.
Senior centers, home-delivered meals, caregiver support, elder abuse help and benefits screening for New Yorkers 60 and up.
Accessible housing, benefits, transportation and job help for New Yorkers with disabilities.
Free civil lawyers for Manhattan residents. Housing, benefits, family, immigration and consumer cases.
40 Worth Street, Suite 606, New York, NY 10013
Office line is (646) 442-3100.
Free civil lawyers for housing, benefits, family, immigration, consumer debt and disability. Offices in all five boroughs.
Intake line, Monday to Friday, 9:30am to 4pm.
Free lawyers for civil, criminal and juvenile cases. The helpline points you to the right unit.
Helpline Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm.
Plain-English answers about your legal problem plus a directory of free legal help near you.
Free, safe, confidential immigration legal help through trusted community organizations and schools. You need an appointment.
Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm. Or call 311 and say ActionNYC.
Know your rights, find legal help, and see the city services that are open to you no matter your status.
Free NYC photo ID for anyone 10 and up. Immigration status does not matter and the city does not share your information.
Free help after domestic or sexual violence, downtown near the courts. Counseling, legal help and safety planning under one roof.
80 Centre Street, New York, NY 10013
You are in danger right now, or someone is hurt.
Free and confidential, 24 hours. Call or text.
Safe, free and confidential, any hour. They help with safety planning and emergency shelter.
One place for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence, trafficking and stalking. Counseling, legal help and safety planning, all free. Staff speak more than 30 languages.
The country's largest victim services nonprofit. Hotlines for domestic violence, crime victims and rape and sexual assault.
One call connects a young person or a parent to youth programs, shelter, counseling and more. Over 180 languages.
Try a simpler word — “rent” instead of “rental arrears”, or “food” instead of “groceries”. Or clear the search and pick a category above. If you still cannot find it, call 311 or email us at info@guswithus.org and we will help you look.
Call us at (718) 775-5050 or email info@guswithus.org. We are at 175-61 Hillside Avenue, Suite 202 in Jamaica. If we do not run it, we will help you find who does.
Know a program that belongs on this page? Send it to us. This list grows because people in the neighborhood tell us what is working.
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