A short update on what has changed on the site this month, and what we are working on next.
New this month
- Your First Week: A Checklist picks up where The First 72 Hours leaves off: the calls, forms, and people that save the most trouble later. No account needed.
- Glossary: plain definitions of the insurance, hospital, leave, and benefits words that get thrown at you in the first month.
- Food Help Beyond SNAP: hospital meal vouchers, Ronald McDonald Family Rooms, pantries, disease-specific grants, and how to hand the meal calendar to a friend.
- Questions to Ask the Hospital Financial Counselor and Social Worker: two people who can change what your family pays and how much help you get, and exactly what to ask them.
- Easier to find: The First 72 Hours is now in the top menu, and the Resources page starts with the three pages to read first.
Beyond New Jersey and New York
We started where we live, so many articles name New Jersey and New York programs. The new pages are written for families anywhere in the U.S., and the Resources page now ends with the fastest ways to find the matching program in your state. If you know a program that works where you live, become a contributor and help us cover it.
Tell us what is missing
Every page on this site exists because a family hit a wall and nobody had written down how to get past it. If something confused you, or a link is out of date, let us know. It gets fixed for the next family.