Help in Arizona
For people starting over after prison, foster care, treatment, homelessness, abuse, or trafficking
We've verified 20 places in Arizona, most of them in Phoenix, Tucson and Mesa, plus 10 that serve the whole state. The most help we've found here is for people leaving homelessness (12) and leaving an abuser (11).
Arizona Sexual and Domestic Violence Helpline
Statewide helpline run by Arizona's DV coalition that connects survivors with the local shelter or program that fits their situation. Call the Phoenix or toll-free number; staff can also explain options when a shelter is full.
211 Arizona
Arizona's information and referral line for food, shelter, utility help, reentry support, addiction treatment and confidential help leaving domestic violence. Dial 2-1-1 in state or the toll-free number, or search the online database.
Community Corrections (Reentry Services)
The state office that supervises people released from Arizona prisons and runs the reentry centers in Pima and Maricopa counties, which offer short-term emergency housing, substance use treatment and job-readiness help through DES. People on supervision contact their assigned officer; others can call the main line.
Extended Foster Care / Young Adult Program
Lets young adults who were in Arizona foster care stay in or return to care at ages 18, 19 or 20 with a monthly living stipend, a DCS Specialist and a case plan built around school, work or a medical condition. Youth who already left care can re-enter any time before their 21st birthday through the local Transitional Independent Living Program provider.
Arizona Refugee Resettlement Program
State program for refugees, asylees, SIV holders, Cuban/Haitian entrants and certified trafficking victims: cash and medical assistance for new arrivals, English classes, case management and employment help for up to five years after arrival. Services run through local agencies such as IRC, Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities in Phoenix and Tucson.
Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS)
Arizona's largest emergency shelter for single adults, open around the clock on the 12th Avenue campus in Phoenix, with a separate family shelter and a shelter for adults 55 and older. Adults 18+ walk in, complete campus intake, then ask to be directed to CASS; families call 211 for the Family Housing Hub.
Brian Garcia Welcome Center
Front door of the Key Campus in downtown Phoenix where single adults who are homeless or about to be get an assessment and a plan, then connect to shelter, housing and on-site partners. Visit between 7am and 11pm or call ahead.
Primavera Foundation
Tucson nonprofit running a men's shelter, Casa Paloma women's shelter, a family shelter program, rapid rehousing, rent and utility help and the Primavera Works day-labor program. Start at the drop-in Resource Center on South 6th Avenue during morning hours or call the Resource Center line.
A New Leaf
Mesa-based agency with shelters and housing programs for families and individuals, a 24-hour domestic violence hotline for Maricopa County shelter placement (480-890-3039 or 1-844-SAFEDVS), a 24-hour sexual violence helpline (480-733-3028), childcare and financial coaching. Call the main line or use Find Help Now on the website.
Northland Family Help Center
Flagstaff's gender-inclusive shelter for people fleeing domestic violence, sexual assault or trafficking, open every day of the year, plus a youth shelter, counseling and legal advocacy. Crisis lines answer around the clock; counseling and advocacy run weekday business hours.
Emerge Center Against Domestic Abuse
Tucson's domestic abuse agency with a multilingual 24-hour hotline, safety planning, crisis intervention and emergency shelter. Call either hotline number any time; shelter location is confidential.
Sojourner Center
Phoenix shelter and housing provider for adults and children escaping domestic violence, sexual violence and human trafficking: emergency shelter up to 120 days, 32 transitional apartments for up to two years, and mobile community outreach. Reach the 24-hour hotline first; the shelter address is not public.
Building Bridges to Hope: Human Trafficking Initiative
Case management for adult trafficking survivors in Maricopa and parts of Pinal County, both U.S.-born and foreign-born: help reaching shelter and transitional housing, jobs, school, behavioral health, and applications for AHCCCS, SNAP, TANF and legal aid. Hotline callers are screened by a Promotora.
Recovery Empowerment Network (REN)
Peer-run behavioral health center in central Phoenix for adults with serious mental illness or general mental health and substance use needs, offering peer support, peer employment services, member meals, a gym and the HERO Discovery Center. Download the self-referral packet or call to join.
Community Bridges, Inc. (CBI)
Statewide substance use and mental health provider with a 24/7 access-to-care and crisis line, crisis stabilization, residential and inpatient treatment, an opioid treatment program, supportive housing, shelters and outreach. Call the 24/7 line to be routed to care or schedule online.
Community Legal Services
Nonprofit civil law firm serving central and northern Arizona with housing, domestic violence and family law, public benefits, employment and conviction set-aside help for people who cannot afford a lawyer. Apply online or call the Phoenix intake line on weekday mornings.
Southern Arizona Legal Aid (SALA)
Free civil legal aid for low-income residents of Pima, Santa Cruz, Pinal, Cochise, Graham, Greenlee, Navajo, Apache and Gila counties and 11 tribal nations, with high priority for crime victims. Apply online or call the Tucson office to schedule an intake.
Bureau of Vital Records
State office that issues certified Arizona birth certificates, needed for an MVD ID card. Order online, by mail to the PO Box, or in person at the Phoenix office on weekdays.
Arizona Identification (ID) Card
How to get a $12 Arizona state ID: start the application at AZMVDNow.gov, then finish at an MVD or authorized third-party office with a birth certificate or passport, your Social Security number and two proofs of Arizona address. Free for people 65 and older and some other groups.
Nutrition Assistance (SNAP) and Health-e-Arizona Plus
Arizona's SNAP program, applied for alongside AHCCCS medical coverage and Cash Assistance through the Health-e-Arizona Plus portal, by mailed paper form, or at a DES Family Assistance office. Emergency food benefits can be decided within seven days; other applications within 30.
National lines that work in Arizona
SAMHSA National Helpline
Free, confidential treatment referral for substance use and mental health. Finds local programs that take your insurance or none.
988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Call or text 988 for any mental health or substance use crisis. Available to anyone in any program.
Lifeline free phone program
Free or discounted phone and service for people on Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, or low income. Apply online or through a carrier.
National Human Trafficking Hotline
24/7 confidential hotline for survivors of trafficking and people who suspect it. Connects to vetted local services.
National Domestic Violence Hotline
24/7 confidential help for anyone affected by domestic violence. Advocates connect you to local shelters and legal help.
Start right where you are
Each program has a step-by-step checklist for the first 72 hours, 30 days, and 90 days, so you always know your next step.