In New Hampshire, people with little or no income may be entitled to financial help from their town or city. New Hampshire law (RSA 165) requires each town and city to have a local welfare program to help people who are in need of financial assistance in meeting their basic living needs. The role of local town and city welfare is to relieve and maintain residents of their towns/cities whenever a person is unable to support themselves. Each New Hampshire town has a town or city welfare office, usually located within the Town Office. This is a separate resource from State Welfare/Dept. of Health and Human Services that provide long term assistance. Local town welfare programs are required to provide financial assistance for basic necessities such as food, shelter, rent, mortgage payments, heat, electricity, gas, water, necessary clothing, transportation, and prescriptions. Basic telephone service may be paid if necessary for health and safety reasons. Towns must also help with "maintenance" items such as paper products, household supplies, diapers, etc.. Towns should pay security deposits if necessary to obtain housing. Necessary medical costs should be paid if there is no other way to obtain essential medical services. The town may decide that a certain expense, such as a car payment, is not necessary. This may happen when a reasonable lower cost option is available, such as public transportation. The town should issue a written decision on your application within 3 to 5 days of your application. If there is an emergency, the town should make a decision immediately. The written decision should tell you how much and what kind of help the town will give. You can't be denied assistance just because: *You have lived in town only a short time *You have received help in the past, or have not repaid help you received in the past *The town says they don't have enough money in the budget *You receive other state or federal assistance (However if you receive APTD or OAA, speak with the Legal Advice & Referral Center(LARC) for further information If you think that your request for help has been wrongly denied, call the Legal Advice & Referral Center for assistance. You have the right to appeal and request a hearing. If you have questions about this process, please call the Legal Advice and Referral Center for assistance.