Find local help in the USA
Searchable directories for domestic violence shelters, local assistance of every kind, and eating disorder treatment across the US and Canada.
These are search tools rather than single organisations. Each one takes a location and returns what exists near you, which is the thing most lists of national numbers cannot do.
Dialling 211 is the broadest of them and the least known. It covers rent and utility assistance, food, childcare, healthcare and legal aid, free and confidentially, almost everywhere in the country. It is the one to try when the problem does not fit a category.
Directories
3 entries
211 211.org
Dial 211 or search online for local help of any kind — rent and utility assistance, food, childcare, healthcare, legal aid. Free and confidential.
DomesticShelters.org domesticshelters.org
The largest searchable database of domestic violence shelters and programmes in the US and Canada. Filter by location, services offered and language.
Eating disorder treatment finder allianceforeatingdisorders.com
Free referral database covering every level of care — search by postcode, insurance accepted and what else is going on. Helpline 866-662-1235, Monday to Friday, 9am to 7pm ET. Not a crisis line.
Which to use when
If you need somewhere to go tonight, the shelter database is the one — it covers the United States and Canada and lets you filter by the services a programme actually offers and the languages it speaks, rather than just by distance.
If the problem is money, housing, food or childcare, start with 211. It is staffed, free, and holds local listings that no national directory can.
The treatment finder is specialised and free to search by postcode, insurance accepted and level of care. Its helpline runs weekday hours only, so for anything urgent outside those hours use the crisis lines on the support page instead.
More for the United States
Every link on this page was opened and checked by hand. Last reviewed 04 October 2026.