Legal Services

Food Assistance (SNAP), formally called Food Stamps, helps people pay for food. You get a card you can use to buy food at grocery stores.

General Assistance, called GA, comes from towns and cities, like Portland and Lewiston, to help pay for housing costs and other basic needs like food and medicine.

MaineCare helps people with low income pay for health care, like doctor visits and medication.
 

Supplemental Security Income, called SSI, is a state program that gives you cash to pay for basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter. Sometimes people call this program Social Security.
 

TANF stands for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. TANF provides cash help to families with children living at home. TANF can help some immigrants pay for basic needs like housing, heat, and other things

Weekly-yearly income guidelines for a wide range of healthcare options: MaineCare, Expansion, CHIP

Information about what proof DHHS will accept for citizenship and identity.

Legal Immigrants who are not eligible for MaineCare can get subsidies for Marketplace health insurance—learn more here.

Information about Maine’s Arrearage Management Program

Basic information about the Parents as Scholars program

How to request replacement food supplement benefits

Information about TANF benefits for minors who are parents

Special rules for people with high medical expenses

Information about help paying for medications

Information for people living in subsidized housing

Information for non-citizens who are legally present in the United States

Information for people who are homeless

How-to guide if you have MaineCare and need hearing aids

Information about coverage for cancer screening for women without insurance and MaineCare for women with breast and cervical cancer.

Information about what help is available based on immigration status, including a flowchart and pictogram

Comprehensive Guide to determining eligibility for all categories of MaineCare. 

Special rules for people who are elderly or disabled

Information about different ways to apply for MaineCare and what to do if you are denied and want to appeal

Information about programs including:

• Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP)
• Weatherization and Furnace Repair or Replacement (CHIP)
• Emergency Crisis Intervention Program (ECIP)
• Low-Income Assistance Plan (LIAP)
• List of Community Action Programs (to apply for LIHEAP, CHIP, ECIP, LIAP)
• Arrearage Management Program
• Maine Home Repair Network
• Alternative Aid
• Emergency Assistance
• General Assistance
• Rural Housing Repair Loans and Grants
• Efficiency Maine
   

Legal Aid Resources Available to Low-Income and Elderly Mainers. This list is an overview of areas of law addressed, NOT a comprehensive list of services. Please contact the provider agencies directly for complete information about the services they provide. Because of limited resources, none of these agencies is able to meet the demand for services.