Assistance Programs in Missouri

Missouri's Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program helps low-income households pay home energy bills. It has two parts: Energy Assistance, a one-time payment toward heating or cooling from October through May, and the Energy Crisis Intervention Program, ECIP, for a disconnect notice or an emergency. Apply at mydss.mo.gov or call 1-855-373-4636 to have an application mailed.

Free home energy-efficiency work for income-eligible Missouri households: insulation, air sealing, and heating-system improvements that lower future bills. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources runs the program through a statewide network of local weatherization agencies. Contact the local agency serving your area to apply, since DNR does not take applications directly.

SNAP is Missouri's food stamp program: monthly food money on an EBT card you use like a debit card at most grocery stores. Apply online any time through myDSS at mydss.mo.gov, run by the Family Support Division, or ask for a paper application. The FSD Information Center is 1-855-373-4636 (1-855-FSD-INFO), Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm.

WIC gives healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and health referrals to pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children up to age 5. Missouri WIC runs through local agencies of the Department of Health and Senior Services. Call TEL-LINK at 1-800-835-5465 to find your local WIC agency, or reach the state WIC office at 1-800-392-8209.

MO HealthNet is Missouri's Medicaid program: free or low-cost health coverage for children, pregnant people, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income adults. Missouri expanded Medicaid, so adults ages 19 to 64 can now qualify. Apply online at mydss.mo.gov or by phone at 1-855-373-9994. General MO HealthNet questions go to 1-800-392-2161.

Temporary Assistance, TA, is Missouri's monthly cash benefit for low-income families with children, meant to help cover costs like clothing and utilities. Most adults take part in the Missouri Work Assistance program, which helps you move toward a job. Apply online at mydss.mo.gov or ask for a paper application through the FSD Information Center at 1-855-373-4636.

Missouri's Working Family Tax Credit is a state earned income tax credit equal to 20 percent of your federal Earned Income Tax Credit for tax year 2024 and forward. It is nonrefundable, so it lowers the Missouri tax you owe but cannot go below zero, and it cannot be carried forward to a later year. Claim it on your Missouri income tax return.

Temporary weekly payments if you lost work through no fault of your own, from the Missouri Division of Employment Security. File online through UInteract at uinteract.labor.mo.gov, which is the fastest way and open 24 hours a day, or call a Regional Claims Center at 1-800-320-2519, Monday through Friday, 8am to 5pm Central.

Missouri's legal aid offices provide free civil legal help to low-income residents on housing, family, public benefits, consumer, and other noncriminal matters. In eastern Missouri, call Legal Services of Eastern Missouri at 1-800-444-0514. In western Missouri, call Legal Aid of Western Missouri at 1-816-474-6750. Find the right office and apply at lsmo.org.

Dial 2-1-1 from any Missouri phone, or call 1-800-427-4626, for free, confidential help finding local assistance with housing, utilities, food, healthcare, and more. United Way 211 answers around the clock, every day of the year, with multilingual specialists. You can also search the statewide resource directory at 211helps.org.