Help for older adults and people with disabilities
Help for older adults and people with disabilities comes from many local offices. Each one does a different job. For older adults, one national phone line can point you to local help.
1. Start with the Eldercare Locator
The Eldercare Locator is a public service of the federal Administration for Community Living (ACL). It connects older adults and their families to local services. Call or text 1-800-677-1116, or search by location on its website. You can also chat online or send an email to trained staff.
It can find your local Area Agency on Aging and many Aging and Disability Resource Centers. You can also browse the senior services page.
2. Call your Area Agency on Aging
An Area Agency on Aging (AAA) is a public or private nonprofit agency that the state chooses to serve older people in one area. That area may be a city, a single county or several counties. Local names vary.
AAAs help older adults stay in their own homes if they want to. Services include home-delivered meals and help with housework. They are part of the network set up under the Older Americans Act, a federal law from 1965. ACL counts 618 area agencies on aging across the country.
3. Ask an Aging and Disability Resource Center
An Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) helps older adults, people with disabilities and their families learn about long-term services and supports. These can be provided at home, in residential settings or in places like nursing homes. ADRCs give unbiased information and counseling to people at all income levels. They also help people apply for public and private programs. ACL says the Eldercare Locator lists many of them.
4. Get free Medicare counseling from your SHIP
Each state has a State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP). So do Puerto Rico, Guam, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. SHIP counselors give free, one-on-one help to people with Medicare and their families. They can help you:
- choose a plan and review your coverage
- understand costs
- apply for Extra Help with drug costs
- file a complaint or an appeal
SHIPs also help people under 65 who get Medicare because of a disability. Find yours at shiphelp.org.
5. Apply for disability benefits through Social Security
The Social Security Administration runs two programs for people with disabilities. You apply for both through Social Security.
- Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Monthly payments for people whose disability stops or limits their ability to work. The disability must affect your ability to work for a year or more, or be expected to result in death. You also need enough work history. Generally that means working at least 5 of the last 10 years. Benefits may include Medicare.
- Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Monthly payments for people with little or no income and resources who have a disability, are blind, or are 65 or older. Children can qualify too.
Apply online at ssa.gov. If you cannot use the website, call 1-800-772-1213 or visit your local Social Security office. When you apply for SSI online, you can also choose to apply for SSDI.
If you disagree with a decision, ask Social Security to reconsider it within 60 days. For a disability decision, an examiner from your state's Disability Determination Services office reviews it. If you still disagree, you can ask for a hearing with a judge, then a review by the Appeals Council, then go to federal court. You can have an attorney or another qualified person help you.
6. Get help finding work: vocational rehabilitation
Every state has a vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency for people with disabilities who want to work. VR helps people prepare for and go to work. To qualify, you must have a physical or mental impairment that is a substantial barrier to working. You must also need VR services to get a job. VR agencies also help students with disabilities get ready for work. If a state cannot serve everyone, it must serve people with the most significant disabilities first.
7. Find a Center for Independent Living
Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are local nonprofits that help people with disabilities live on their own. People with disabilities run them. They hold 75% of the decision-making jobs, and two-thirds of the staff have disabilities. More than 350 CILs work across every state and territory. Every CIL offers:
- information and referrals
- training in skills like personal care, budgeting and running a household
- peer counseling and mentoring
- advocacy
- help moving into and staying in the community, including young adults leaving school
Find one at dial.gov or on the disability services page.
8. Report abuse or neglect to Adult Protective Services
Adult Protective Services (APS) is run by state and local governments. It helps older adults and adults with disabilities who face abuse, neglect, self-neglect or financial exploitation. Every state has an APS program that takes reports and responds to them. If someone is in danger right now, call 911.
Where it works differently
- Who runs APS. In California each county has its own APS agency. A statewide hotline, 1-833-401-0832, connects you to your county when you enter your ZIP code. In Texas, the state Department of Family and Protective Services runs APS. Its line is 1-800-252-5400. Texas APS looks into abuse of people living in the community. Concerns about abuse in nursing homes go to a different number, 800-458-9858.
- Who counts as an older adult. California APS serves adults 60 and older, plus adults 18 to 59 who have a disability. Texas APS serves adults 65 and older, plus adults 18 to 64 who have a disability.
- Program names. A state's SHIP may use its own name. In California it is HICAP, the Health Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program, under the California Department of Aging.
- Two VR agencies. In 22 states there is one VR agency for people who are blind or have visual impairments and another for everyone else. The other 34 states and territories have a single agency.
State by state
The official statewide page for each state and territory. For a local office near you, search your county or city above.
Sources
- Administration for Community Living: Eldercare Locator
- Administration for Community Living: Area Agencies on Aging
- Administration for Community Living: Older Americans Act
- Administration for Community Living: Aging and Disability Resource Centers
- Administration for Community Living: Aging and Disability Resource Centers Program/No Wrong Door System
- Administration for Community Living: State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP)
- Medicare.gov: Talk to someone
- Social Security Administration: Disability
- Social Security Administration: Who can get Disability
- Social Security Administration: Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Social Security Administration: Apply for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Social Security Administration: How can we help?
- Social Security Administration: Appeal a decision we made
- Social Security Administration: Request reconsideration
- Rehabilitation Services Administration: State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program
- Rehabilitation Services Administration: State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies
- Administration for Community Living: Centers for Independent Living
- Administration for Community Living: Supporting Adult Protective Services
- California Department of Social Services: Adult Protective Services
- Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: About Adult Protective Services
- California Department of Aging: Medicare Counseling (HICAP)
Checked against the sources above on Oct 16, 2026. GovDir is a guide, not legal advice. The agency that handles your case has the final say.