Assistance Programs in Rhode Island

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, LIHEAP, helps income-eligible Rhode Island households with home heating and energy costs, and it runs through the RI Department of Human Services. Apply online through the HealthyRhode portal at healthyrhode.ri.gov, by mail, or by phone through the DHS Call Center at 1-855-697-4347. Weatherization is a separate program that fixes the home itself.

Free home energy-efficiency work for income-eligible Rhode Island households: insulation, air sealing, and heating-system improvements that lower future bills. The RI Office of Energy Resources coordinates the program, and applications run through your local Community Action Program agency, the same agencies that take energy assistance applications. Call the Office of Energy Resources at 401-574-9117 or contact your local Community Action Program agency to start.

SNAP is Rhode Island's food assistance program: monthly food money on an EBT card you use like a debit card at most grocery stores. Apply online through the HealthyRhode portal at healthyrhode.ri.gov, the state's one-stop site that also handles Medicaid, RI Works cash, child care, and energy assistance. You can also apply by phone through the DHS Call Center at 1-855-697-4347 (1-855-MY-RIDHS) or by mail to the RI Department of Human Services.

WIC gives healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and health referrals to pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children up to age 5. Rhode Island WIC runs through the RI Department of Health and local clinics. To apply, call the RI Department of Health Information Line at 401-222-5960 to reach a local clinic and set up an appointment, or start at health.ri.gov/wic.

Rhode Island Medicaid is free or low-cost health coverage for children, pregnant people, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income adults. RIte Care is the managed care part that covers most families and children. Rhode Island expanded Medicaid to cover low-income adults ages 19 to 64, so apply even if you were turned down before. Apply online through the HealthyRhode portal, or call HealthSource RI at 1-855-840-4774.

The Child Care Assistance Program helps low- and moderate-income Rhode Island families pay for child care so parents can work or train for work. It covers children under 13, or up to 18 with special needs, at licensed and approved providers. Apply online through the HealthyRhode portal at healthyrhode.ri.gov or by phone through the DHS Call Center at 1-855-697-4347.

RI Works is Rhode Island's cash assistance and employment program for parents and families with little to no income who have children high school age or younger. It pairs a monthly cash payment with job readiness, training, and child care support, and kinship guardians such as grandparents raising a child can apply too. Apply online through the HealthyRhode portal at healthyrhode.ri.gov or by phone through the DHS Call Center at 1-855-697-4347.

Rhode Island's Earned Income Credit is a refundable credit worth 16 percent of your federal Earned Income Tax Credit for tax years 2024 and 2025, up from 15 percent in earlier years. Because it is refundable, it can pay out as cash even when it is larger than the tax you owe. Claim it on your Rhode Island income tax return; you generally must qualify for the federal EITC first.

Temporary weekly payments if you lost work through no fault of your own, from the RI Department of Labor and Training. File online through UI Online at uionline.dlt.ri.gov, which is the fastest way, or call the call center at 401-415-6772. The call center is open Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 8am to 3pm, Friday from 9:30am to 3pm, and is closed Wednesday.

Rhode Island Legal Services provides free civil legal help to low-income residents on housing and eviction, family, public benefits, consumer, and elder law matters. Call the office at 401-274-2652, or the toll-free line at 1-800-662-5034, to reach intake, or apply for help online. This is civil legal help only, not criminal defense.

Dial 2-1-1 from any Rhode Island phone, or call 401-519-0360, for free, confidential help finding local assistance with housing, utilities, food, child care, healthcare, and more. 211 Rhode Island is run by United Way of Rhode Island and answers around the clock, every day of the year, with translation available in many languages. You can also chat with a resource specialist online.