Right away
- Save 211 in your phone. Dial 211, text your ZIP code, or search 211kansas.org for food, housing, utility assistance, healthcare, and tax help anywhere in Kansas. Live chat runs Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
- Log into studentaid.gov and write down what you owe, who services it, and what repayment plan you are on. Do this before your first bill arrives.
- Confirm your health coverage. You can stay on a parent’s plan until you turn 26. Know that date.
- Update your address with your school, your loan servicer, and the post office.
Within the first three months
- Set up direct deposit and a rough budget.
- If you are working, check whether your employer offers tuition assistance. Many do and few employees use it.
- If you are job searching, visit the Wichita Workforce Center at 2021 N. Amidon, Suite 1100, or call (316) 771-6600. Services are free.
Before your first tax season
- File a return even if your income was low. Refundable credits mean filing can put money back in your pocket. United Way of the Plains offers free tax filing services locally each season.
If money gets tight at any point
- Apply for SNAP through Kansas DCF, or call the Kansas Food Bank SNAP Helpline at 1-877-653-9522 for free help determining whether you qualify.
- GraceMed, Hunter Health, and HealthCore offer care on a sliding fee scale based on household income when you do not have insurance.
Any time
- 988 is the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Call or text, free and confidential, any hour.
Sources: United Way of the Plains 211, unitedwayplains.org/211-information-and-referral and 211kansas.org; Federal Student Aid, studentaid.gov; Kansas Food Bank, kansasfoodbank.org/gethelp; Workforce Alliance of South Central Kansas, workforce-ks.com; GraceMed, gracemed.org; Hunter Health, hunterhealth.org; HealthCore Clinic, healthcoreclinic.org; 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, 988lifeline.org.