Services

How We Can Help

We conduct comprehensive benefit screening for health care, SNAP (formerly food stamps), heating assistance, Social Security Income (SSI), Social Security Disability Income (SSDI), tax benefits, veteran’s benefits, housing subsidies, prescription assistance, unemployment insurance, subsidized transit, long-term care options, among other benefits. We provide information on these programs, help with applications and navigating complex systems, assist with the appeals process, and make referrals. We help people understand their options and to advocate for themselves.

To get help, call us at 212-674-2300, contact NY Connects, or make an appointment with one of our benefits counselors.

If you would like to have a Intake Specialist contact you, please click here to fill out this short form.

Our Manhattan office is located at 1010 Avenue of the Americas, Suite 301, New York, NY 10018. We are in an elevator building that is wheelchair accessible.

Our Queens office is located at 80-02 Kew Gardens Rd., Suite 400, Kew Gardens, NY 11415. We are in an elevator building that is wheelchair accessible.

For General Contact and referrals:

Call 212-674-2300 or 646-442-1520 to reach our intake line and refer to a counselor. 

**If you have your counselor’s contact information, please email or call them directly.** 

EMPLOYMENT

We train people with disabilities in job readiness skills and provide resources for training, employment, and vocational rehabilitation services.

FOOD ACCESS

We assist with enrolling in food assistance programs including SNAP, school breakfast, and summer meals programs.

HEALTH CARE

We offer assistance in navigating health insurance including employer-based, Medicaid, Medicare and private insurance.

HOUSING

We educate and assist people with their rights for accommodations and modifications under the Fair Housing Act.

We help people learn how to search for housing and housing subsidies so that they understand and can use online and other resources.

INDEPENDENT LIVING SKILLS TRAINING

We help people with basic life skills, to understand their benefits and rights, and to become better advocates for themselves.

INDIVIDUAL AND SYSTEMS ADVOCACY

We encourage participants to advocate for themselves and work to reduce barriers in society through advocacy and organizing.

INFORMATION AND REFERRALS

We share information and resources so that people with disabilities can come closer to living the lives they imagine for themselves.

LONG-TERM CARE

We educate, empower, and advocate for long-term care residents in nursing homes and assisted living facilities. We assist people with their managed long-term care cases. 

NURSING HOME TRANSITION AND DIVERSION

We help people avoid institutionalization or transition from an institution back into the community.

PEER COUNSELING

Our benefits counselors are people with disabilities informed by their own experiences.

SSI AND SSDI

We can help you apply for social security disability benefits and supplemental security income.

TRANSPORTATION

We help people with disabilities apply for and understand their transportation options.

YOUTH SERVICES

We help high school and college students with disabilities understand their options as they transition into adult life.
 
As an independent living center, we advocate for individuals and to improve the systems that affect them by providing core services. We provide peer counseling – using our own experiences as people with disabilities to help others. We provide educational information, workshops, and make referrals to community resources. We help people develop their independent living skills, learn about their rights for accommodations, and teach them advocacy skills. We advise people on their housing search and on ways to stretch their budget and to avoid evictions. We help youth transition into adulthood with job readiness skills or planning for further education including college. We prevent institutionalization by helping people stabilize in the community and get access to additional resources and benefits. We bring people home from nursing homes to live full lives in the community. We help people with disabilities who need Independent Living Services with information, referrals, and advocacy in benefits, transportation, healthcare, and assistive technology.
 
For a map of Independent Living Centers throughout New York State, please click here.
 
Please take a look at the information in this section, and if you would like further information, please speak to one of our benefits counselors in Manhattan at 646-442-4186 or in Queens at 646-442-1520. 
 
To review Consumer Rights and Responsibilities, click here. This document is also available in Word here.