211: Get help. get connected.
A free, confidential resource for rhode islanders
why call?
211 can connect you with housing, food, affordable childcare, and much more.
- 211 is a free, confidential service.
- Your call is answered by a trained professional.
- One call connects you with the appropriate resources you need in your community.
- It is efficient, fast and easy to use.
- No more wrong numbers or wasted time trying to find the right resource.
- It is always there for you—24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.
- Translation services available in many languages.
Police, fire or medical emergency? Call 911.
Not sure whether to call? These are just some of the ways we can help...
- Afterschool programs
- Childcare
- Pantries
- Soup kitchens
- Delivery if you’re homebound
- Alcohol and drug addiction treatment (See opioid addiction recovery information)
- COVID-19 testing
- Depression counseling
- Gambling addiction treatment (Wonder if your gambling is an addiction? Try our screening tools)
- Health insurance
- Avoiding eviction
- Place to stay tonight
- Rent/mortgage assistance
- Electric, gas, heat payments (Learn more about the Good Neighbor Energy Fund)
- Program information
- Free or sliding scale legal assistance
- General legal services
- Free tax preparation (Learn more about Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)
- Ride options
- Transit information
- Comprehensive veteran assistance
- Medical assistance
- Cyber bullying
- Domestic violence
- Identity theft (Learn more about cybercrime)
All this and much more for adults over 55 or with disabilities via Point. Point is the state's healthy aging helpdesk. Learn more about Point.
Unite Rhode Island Self-Referral Form

United Way 211 in Rhode Island is supported by Citizens.
United Way of Rhode Island and CVS Health Foundation are working together to help those impacted by the opioid crisis. Our goal is to connect Rhode Islanders with treatment resources, increase addiction awareness, and find options that work.
The Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS) is a 3-item survey designed to help people evaluate their need for a formal gambling behavior evaluation. The BBGS is based on the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic criteria for pathological gambling.
In accordance with federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, this institution is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex (including gender identity and sexual orientation), religious creed, disability, age, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity.
Program information may be made available in languages other than English. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication to obtain program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language), should contact the agency (state or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.
To file a program discrimination complaint, a Complainant should complete a Form AD-3027, USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form which can be obtained online at: https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ad-3027.pdf [usda.gov], from any USDA office, by calling (833) 620-1071, or by writing a letter addressed to USDA. The letter must contain the complainant’s name, address, telephone number, and a written description of the alleged discriminatory action in sufficient detail to inform the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (ASCR) about the nature and date of an alleged civil rights violation. The completed AD-3027 form or letter must be submitted to:
- mail: Food and Nutrition Service, USDA 1320 Braddock Place, Room 334 Alexandria, VA 22314; or
- fax: (833) 256-1665 or (202) 690-7442; or
- email: FNSCIVILRIGHTSCOMPLAINTS@usda.gov
This institution is an equal opportunity provider.

PBN announces 2023 Best Places to Work honorees
Providence Business News
Sixty-seven honorees, including United Way of Rhode Island, have been named by Providence Business News for its 2023 Best Places to Work Awards program... The honorees will be recognized June 7 for their efforts in a ceremony at Crowne Plaza Providence-Warwick in Warwick, where the company rankings in each category will be announced.

Five Qs With: Anthony Botelho
Providence Business News
Anthony Botelho serves as senior vice president of commercial banking and team leader for the commercial and industrial group at The Washington Trust Co. He was recently appointed to lead the bank’s commercial lending growth in Connecticut, where the company recently opened a New Haven commercial lending office. Anthony also serves on United Way of Rhode Island's Board of Directors.

Rethinking how one of R.I.’s largest nonprofits can grow
The Boston Globe
In October, [Idrees "Lanre"] Ajakaiye was appointed the new chief development officer at... United Way of Rhode Island where he'll be in charge of helping... United Way achieve its current strategic plan, which outlines the nonprofit's investment of $100 million over five years to help achieve racial equity.
United Way Investing $10 Million in Community Programs
With a focus on achieving the goals of its LIVE UNITED 2025 plan to build racial equity and opportunities for all Rhode Islanders, United Way of Rhode Island is investing $10 million in the work of community organizations over three years. These latest grants have been awarded from United Way’s Community Impact Fund and received by… 45 local nonprofits.
Power The Future
On Aug. 19, 2023, at the Rhode Island Convention Center, the area’s premier youth and family workforce development and career awareness event will be brought to you by United Way of Rhode Island. It’s called Power The Future. Power The Future will be an annual empowerment event aligned with the 2030 plan of raising incomes, […]
Director Sought for New Statewide Nonprofit Center
A new, first-of-its-kind statewide resource center for Rhode Island nonprofits is becoming a reality. United Way of Rhode Island, which has convened the state’s nonprofit community to establish the center, today announced it has opened the hiring for the center’s inaugural director.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Day of Action
Join United Way of Rhode Island for Day of Action on Saturday, June 3 from 9 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. at United Way in Providence. We'll be sorting, labeling, and preparing books collected during our Children's Book Drive 2023 for distribution to kids in afterschool and summer learning programs. Two shifts are available — 9 a.m. - noon and 12:30 - 3:30 p.m. This is a family-friendly volunteer opportunity.
Power The Future
Join us at the Rhode Island Convention Center for the area’s premier youth and family workforce development and career awareness event.