Food & Basic Needs
Neighbors Together
Brooklyn
Soup kitchen and community advocacy center: free to-go lunch Mon-Fri 12-2 and dinner 4-6 on select days, plus housing, benefits, job training and healthcare support.
Benefits & Financial Help in Brooklyn
Benefits help covers SNAP (food stamps), cash assistance, Medicaid, SSI and SSDI, plus help managing money once income starts. You can apply for SNAP and cash assistance through the city's HRA, online through ACCESS HRA or in person.
Tip: apply as soon as you're home. SNAP benefits are generally counted from the day you apply, not the day you're approved, so waiting can cost you money.
Brooklyn is large, so check the address and travel time before you go, and ask whether the program takes walk-ins.
10 services based in Brooklyn, plus 70 citywide
Based in Brooklyn
Food & Basic Needs
St. John's Bread and Life
Brooklyn
Grab-and-go breakfast/lunch bags Mon-Thu 9-12:30, digital-choice food pantry Mon-Thu 8-2 (registration required), mobile soup kitchen in Brooklyn and Queens, benefits help, medical clinic and mail service.
Benefits & Financial Help
Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) - Financial Services
Brooklyn
Provides free virtual financial counseling and classes on budgeting, investing, student loans, and retirement planning, plus tax help and one-on-one guidance connecting patrons to entrepreneurial, employment, and education opportunities.
Benefits & Financial Help
CAMBA - Economic Development & Financial Counseling Services
Brooklyn
Offers financial counseling, money management help, and small business services, along with foreclosure and eviction prevention counseling for HPD Section 8 recipients, as part of a broader set of education, family support, health, housing, and free legal service programs.
Benefits & Financial Help
NYS Office of Victim Services
Brooklyn
Reimbursement for medical expenses, lost earnings, funeral costs, counseling, court transportation and domestic violence shelter costs for eligible crime victims.
Housing & Shelter
Black Veterans for Social Justice (BVSJ)
Brooklyn
Provides comprehensive services to veterans and their families throughout NYC, including housing assistance, employment support, benefits advocacy, and counseling. Its Incarcerated Veterans Transitional Program (IVTP) offers pre-release planning, case management, employment assistance, and coordination with the VA and community partners for housing, healthcare, and reintegration support.
Benefits & Financial Help
Taxpayer Advocate Service (TAS)
Brooklyn
An independent office within the IRS that helps people resolve tax problems they have been unable to fix on their own, including cases of undue hardship caused by IRS actions or inaction.
Benefits & Financial Help
Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled (BCID)
Brooklyn
Advocacy, benefits counseling and peer support for people with disabilities in Brooklyn.
Benefits & Financial Help
Brooklyn Cooperative Federal Credit Union
Brooklyn
Community credit union offering accounts, credit-building loans and free tax prep.
Benefits & Financial Help
Brooklyn DA - Community Resources & Re-Entry Program (ComALERT)
Brooklyn
Runs the Kings County Re-entry Task Force, ComALERT and GRASP: Medicaid/SNAP enrollment, clothing, HSE classes, resumes, treatment, counseling; pays for lost birth certificates and NYS ID.
Citywide services
These serve people from every borough, often by phone, online or at more than one office.
Benefits & Financial Help
Community Health Advocates
Citywide
Offers free one-on-one help finding and using health insurance and care, including resolving medical billing and debt problems, disputing coverage denials, accessing hospital and prescription financial assistance programs, and understanding health insurance tax credit forms.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Legal Services NYC
Citywide
Free civil legal services in housing, benefits and immigration, plus representation for conviction-history employment discrimination.
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Mobilization for Justice
Citywide
Provides free legal assistance to low-income New Yorkers on housing, civil rights, disability rights, aging rights, bankruptcy, tax, consumer, employment, government benefits, and kinship care matters, including advice, counsel, and representation to help people with past criminal records re-enter the workforce.
Family & Reunification
NYC HRA - Office of Child Support Services (OCSS)
Citywide
Help with child support orders, license suspensions, lowering or eliminating child support debt owed to the government, paternity, DNA testing, mediation, and free financial counseling.
Benefits & Financial Help
ACCESS NYC
Citywide
Screens eligibility and guides applications for 40+ city, state and federal benefits (food, cash, housing, internet, childcare).
Legal Aid & Record Relief
Community Justice Connect
Citywide
Free legal information, assistance and referrals from trained non-lawyer volunteers supervised by an attorney: benefits, employment, housing, family, immigration, health, divorce, domestic violence.
Benefits & Financial Help
Elderly Pharmaceutical Insurance Coverage (EPIC)
Citywide
Helps income-eligible New Yorkers age 65 and over supplement out-of-pocket costs for their Medicare Part D prescription drug plan.
Benefits & Financial Help
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - Bureau of Consumer Protection
Citywide
Provides guides listing nonprofit, state, and local agencies that help resolve consumer issues, and takes complaints about identity theft, scams, unwanted telemarketing or spam, and fraud.
Healthcare
Medicaid
Citywide
Publicly funded health coverage for low-income people; apply online or order an application kit.
Benefits & Financial Help
Money Management International (MMI)
Citywide
Provides free phone counseling for people with financial or credit problems, including advice on foreclosure, mortgage, bankruptcy, and student loans, along with help preparing a budget.
Healthcare
NY State of Health (Health Plan Marketplace)
Citywide
Enrollment for state public health insurance: Medicaid, Child Health Plus, Essential Plan and other plans.
Benefits & Financial Help
NYC DCWP Financial Empowerment Centers
Citywide
Free one-on-one financial counseling: budgeting, credit repair, safe bank accounts, debt and student loans, accessing government resources.