Help in Connecticut
For people starting over after prison, foster care, treatment, homelessness, abuse, or trafficking
We've verified 20 places in Connecticut, most of them in Hartford, Bridgeport and New Haven, plus 11 that serve the whole state. The most help we've found here is for people leaving homelessness (10) and after prison or jail (9).
Family ReEntry
Nonprofit serving people and families affected by the criminal justice system in Fairfield County, with reentry, domestic violence intervention, and youth programs. Bridgeport programs operate from the Washington Avenue office.
CT Safe Connect
Statewide line for anyone impacted by domestic violence in Connecticut. Advocates answer by call, text, or chat around the clock and connect callers to the local member program for shelter, safety planning, and court help.
2-1-1 Connecticut
Connecticut's information and referral line for food, housing, utility help, mental health, substance use, and crisis intervention. It is also the front door for shelter referrals statewide; dial 2-1-1 from any phone.
Offender Reentry Services Unit
The DOC's central reentry office. Every state facility has a reentry counselor who starts planning about 18 months before release, helping with birth certificates, Social Security cards, non-driver IDs, bus passes, and warm handoffs to the Reentry Welcome Centers. The ID line also handles questions about IDs left behind at discharge.
Hartford Reentry Welcome Center
Walk-in center on the ground floor of Hartford City Hall for people coming home from prison or jail and their families. Staff do a needs assessment and connect you to housing, ID, treatment, medical care, and jobs, with short-term case management and phones and computers on site.
Project MORE Reentry Welcome Center
New Haven's one-stop reentry hub. Peer support specialists who have been through the system assess what you need and link you to identification, housing, SNAP, transportation, and medical care, with peer groups, career staff, clothing, and computer access on site.
CCAR Hartford Recovery Community Center
Free, peer-run recovery center a few blocks from downtown Hartford. Drop in for all-recovery meetings, recovery coaching, family support groups, telephone recovery support, and social events; no referral or insurance needed. CCAR runs similar centers in New Haven and Bridgeport.
Bridgeport Rescue Mission
Faith-based mission on Park Avenue offering emergency safe housing for men and for women with children, residential addiction recovery, hot meals several days a week, a food pantry, and a free health clinic. Separate phone lines handle men's and women's housing.
Columbus House
New Haven's largest homeless services agency, running emergency shelter, street outreach, housing programs, and employment help for individuals, families, and veterans across New Haven, Middlesex, Hartford, and New London counties. For a bed tonight, Columbus House directs people to call 2-1-1.
Hands On Hartford
Community agency in Hartford's Parkville neighborhood with a no-cost community pantry, the Gather55 daytime cafe, homeless outreach, supportive housing, and eviction prevention. Navigators help people sort out benefits and other needs.
IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
New Haven resettlement agency that helps refugees, humanitarian parolees, and asylum seekers find housing, enroll kids in school, learn English, get jobs, reach medical care, and adjust immigration status. A dedicated client help line is the starting point.
Refugee Assistance Program
State office that administers federal refugee resettlement funds in Connecticut. Refugees can receive Refugee Cash Assistance and Refugee Medical Assistance for up to twelve months after arrival, and contracted agencies provide case management and employment help.
Transitional Supports and Services (TSS)
DCF's programs for teens and young adults in or leaving state care: Education and Training Vouchers up to $5,000 a year, the CHAP housing program, CHEER housing and employment supports, TSEA wrap-around help for emerging adults, year-round jobs for ages 14 to 24, and a path to re-enter DCF care after aging out.
Interval House
Domestic violence agency for 24 towns in Greater Hartford with a 24-hour hotline in English and Spanish, an emergency safe house, safety planning, counseling, criminal and civil court advocacy, children's programming, and support groups. All services are free.
The Center for Family Justice
Bridgeport-area center for people affected by domestic violence, sexual assault, or child abuse, serving Bridgeport, Easton, Fairfield, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull. Offers 24/7 crisis lines, bilingual counseling, legal advocacy, youth services, emergency shelter, and weekday walk-in help.
Love146 Survivor Care
Statewide Connecticut program for young people who are confirmed survivors of, or at high risk for, human trafficking. Provides long-term survivor care and transitional services for youth 16 and older. For urgent help, Love146 points to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
Statewide Legal Services of Connecticut
Free civil legal aid hotline for very low-income Connecticut residents with family, public benefits, housing, and unemployment problems. Criminal and immigration cases are not handled. People facing eviction or loss of a housing subsidy have a separate line.
State Vital Records Office
Issues certified copies of Connecticut birth, death, and marriage certificates from the Capitol Avenue office in Hartford. Where you order a birth certificate depends on your birth year and town, so check the site first; walk-in and phone hours differ by day.
Non-Driver ID Card
State photo ID for people who do not drive. The card costs $28 and is free for anyone who is unhoused or living in a shelter, with proof of residency from the shelter or a signed certification on Form B-230. New cards are issued only by appointment at a DMV office and arrive by mail within 20 business days.
ConneCT – Apply for SNAP and Other Benefits
Connecticut's online portal for SNAP food benefits, HUSKY Medicaid, and cash assistance. Applications can also be mailed or filed in person at a DSS office. Decisions take up to 30 days, or 7 days for households with very little income or cash on hand.
National lines that work in Connecticut
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.