United Way of California

Thank You

Thank you, please click here to download the public data set.

COVID-19 Resources

United Ways are on the frontlines of COVID-19. Our priority is to meet the needs of the most vulnerable. Help us fight for every Californian in every community, regardless of zip code, age, health condition, legal status, or financial need. This page highlights only a handful of the many resources available. For a full list of resources, please click here. 

• DONATE To the California United Ways COVID-19 Relief Fund
• VOLUNTEER For the California United Ways COVID-19 Relief Fund

Housing Resources

• CAN’T AFFORD RENT?

  • Click here to see what rental aid might be available in your county.

• FIGHTING EVICTION?

  • Click here to view a comprehensive listing of legal aid and advocacy groups available by county.

• EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS?

  • Click here to find information on a shelter nearest you.

• MORE OPTIONS

  • Click here for the most frequently asked questions on the 2020 Tenant Relief Act that protects renters from eviction.

Healthcare Resources

• COVID-19 UPDATES

  • Click here for daily updates and the answers to FAQs.

• COVERED CA

  • Click here to sign up for healthcare. Subsidies are available for families making up to $154,500. Enrollment deadline extended until June 30, 2020.

• MEDI-CAL

  • Click here for Medi-Cal. Low-income kids and youth under 26 may apply regardless of immigration status. Low-income adults over 26 with Social Security Numbers may apply.

• MORE OPTIONS

  • Click here for CMSP if you're ineligible for Medi-Cal.
  • Click here to find a free clinic near you, regardless of immigration status.

Food Resources

• FOOD BANKS

  • Click here to find a food bank near you. If you can’t find what you’re looking for please call 211.

• BABY FOOD

  • Click here to enroll in the Women, Infants + Children (WIC) program. If pregnant or have a child under 5.

• SCHOOL MEALS

  • Click here to see if your child’s school providing meals. If they aren’t please call 211 for help.

• FOOD FOR SENIORS

  • Click here for nutrition sites and home-delivered meals.

Click Here to See If You Qualify for CALFRESH + MEDI-CAL If you have a limited income you can get a debit card to buy food. You might also qualify for free healthcare, and help with your bills.

Financial Resources

• NO LONGER WORKING

  • Click here. EDD processes unemployment insurance paid family leaves, and disability claims so you can get by without a paycheck.

• PROVIDING FOR KIDS

  • Click here. CalWORKs also is known as TANF give money to families who need help paying for housing and other basic needs.

• 65+ OR DISABLED

  • Click here. SSI gives money to adults and kids with disabilities, as well as to seniors who need help paying for housing and other basic needs.

• INTERNET + PHONE

  • Click here to get a low-cost internet at home.
  • Click here to get California LifeLine offers for discounted home telephone and/or cell phone.

Click Here to File Online for Free. Get up to $6,557 IN EITC. Don’t pay to file your taxes! Maximize your refund: See if you qualify for EITC and up to $2,982 in CalEITC and $1,000 more in YCTC.

COVID-19

As we face these uncertain times it is important to remember there is always something that can be done to keep the promise of California For All. We are unwavering in our mission to fight for the health, education, and financial security of every person in every community. We are working with all stakeholders and decision-makers to ensure no California is denied the means to meet basic needs. 

• DONATE To the California United Ways COVID-19 Relief Fund
• GET HELP From COVID-19
• GIVE HELP For the California United Ways COVID-19 Relief Fund

COVID-19 has impacted every aspect of our work. As a network that engages face-to-face with our communities, we have been innovating support and delivery methods during safer-at-home physical distancing. We need your help more than ever. Before this crisis, 37% of Californians struggled to meet their basic needs. And as you might imagine those who were most vulnerable before COVID-19, are the most vulnerable now: California families paying more than 30% of their income on housing, headed by single mothers, those with children under 6, those from communities of color, those without Social Security Numbers, without higher education, without subsidized healthcare, without internet access, without anti-poverty tax credits, and so forth, are counting on all of us to aspire to do more than “go back to normal.” 

If you are in a position to give to your neighbors and your neighbors’ neighbors down the road, please give. If you’re experiencing hardship please consider the following:

If you have not yet done so, use MyFreeTaxes.org to prepare + file your taxes for free. If you qualify for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, (up to $6,557) or the California Earned Income Tax Credit, (up to $2,982) you can receive a direct deposit of the full amount of your refund within one week of filing. Also, you can text TAXES to 211 211 for more information.

If you have not yet done so, use our COVID resources page to access the online application for income substitution, (EDD UI/PFL/DI) a prepaid debit card to purchase food, (CalFresh/SNAP) subsidized or free healthcare including vision and dental, (Covered CA/Medi-Cal/Medicaid) and more. Click here to find out what you might qualify for.

If you have not yet done so, please text COVID to 211 211, so you can receive federal, statewide, and local information about testing availability, moratoriums on rent and other payments, and opportunities to receive cash or in-kind relief, as it becomes available. If you are unable to locate what you’re looking for by texting 211 211, you can always call 211, or your local United Way, as well as your county’s department of social services.

United Ways of California Releases Legislative Profiles for the Real Cost Measure

Earlier this summer, United Ways of California released Struggling to Stay Afloat: The Real Cost Measure in California 2019, a new financial stability report that focuses on the financial challenges of working families. Unlike the official poverty measure, which primarily accounts for the cost of food adjusted for inflation, the Real Cost Measure incorporates the costs of housing, food, health care, child care, transportation and other basic needs for a more accurate measure of self-sufficiency. 

Today, we are glad to release new legislative profiles to accompany the release of the study. These profiles illustrate the percentage of households below the Real Cost Measure by neighborhood cluster. Neighborhood clusters, or public use microdata areas as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, are contiguously consolidated neighborhoods with at least 100,000 people, and are more statistically accurate than other geographic boundaries such as zip codes or census tracts. 

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