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The free tool below runs entirely in this browser — no account, nothing stored or transmitted. Redact anything you would not want kept before you type it.
Open the companion tool →What the free routes actually are
Legal aid funded by the Legal Services Corporation serves households at or below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines — $19,562 a year for a single person in 2026 — and LSC absorbed roughly a 3.6% cut in FY2026 while local programmes lost additional state funding. That makes the routing precise: 211 for local programmes, lawhelp.org and LSC for legal aid, the state attorney general and the CFPB for complaints, benefits navigators for enrolment, utility assistance for a shutoff, and a fair-housing organisation for a housing dispute.
The last step is the one people skip: writing down what the office said and the date, so the next call starts from a record instead of from the beginning.
The protocol
- Name the problem in one sentence and the decision that caused it.
- Match it to the routes: 211, legal aid (lawhelp.org), state attorney general, CFPB, benefits navigator, utility assistance, fair housing.
- For each candidate route, record the phone number you looked up yourself and what they ask for.
- Prepare the three-line script: the situation, the date it happened, and the specific question you need answered.
- Log the outcome of each call — who you spoke to, what they said, the next date — and repeat with the next route.
What the tool does
Route a specific problem to the free help that already exists, with the number, the script, and the call log. It runs locally in this browser and sends nothing.
Limit first: This is a planning and referral aid, not legal or financial advice. It cannot enrol you in a programme, connect a service, or guarantee that free help is available where you live.
Open the companion tool →Cost and free path
Cost: Free: one complete run in this browser, no account. Optional $4 one-time unlock allows unlimited runs of this tool on this browser. The free path and safety guidance never require payment.
Rule status (federal route): in force: LSC-funded legal aid serves households at or below 125% of the federal poverty guidelines ($19,562/year for a single person in 2026); LSC absorbed about a 3.6% FY2026 cut and several states reduced local civil-legal-aid funding, so intake capacity varies by programme and should be checked by phone.
Automated decision this documents: eligibility screening and triage that decides who gets free help first
Free path, in order (no cost):
- 211 — local screening and referral (211.org)
- Legal aid intake through lawhelp.org (LSC-funded programmes serve 125% of the federal poverty guidelines)
- State attorney general (usa.gov/state-attorney-general) and the CFPB complaint route
- benefits.gov for enrolment programmes; fair-housing organisations for housing complaints
What this cannot do: It cannot enrol you in a programme, connect a service, or guarantee that free help is available where you live.
Sources checked 2026-10-03 · source bank reviewed against the live pages listed in metadata.
One human next step
Call 211 and your nearest legal-aid intake (through lawhelp.org) first; both are free, and both will tell you if a paid service is genuinely the only route left for your problem.
Research log and safety checks
AI-assist path: not used for a verdict. This builder organises the reader's own documents and names an independent source; it does not infer authenticity, eligibility, or legal rights. §6.9/§6.10/§6.11 disclosed in the batch report; §6.12 status line carried in metadata as `status_line`.
§0.5 protection result: category is access-and-digital-affordability; crisis-adjacent: no; fear/urgency/scarcity toolkit used: no. The protective function is free and the paid feature is convenience only.