Emergency & safety
Emergency: 911
Call right away if you're in danger. You can ask for a Bengali interpreter: say "Bengali interpreter please".
Domestic violence hotline (24/7, confidential)
Call 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. Interpreters available.
Sexual assault hotline (RAINN)
1-800-656-4673
Feeling hopeless or thinking of suicide: 988
Call or text 988. Free and confidential.
Michigan 2-1-1
Food, rent, utility bills, shelter: finds help near you. Just dial 211.
Health & pregnancy
Free or low-cost care in pregnancy (Medicaid)
In Michigan many pregnant women qualify for Medicaid even with a bit more income. Apply on MI Bridges.
WIC: food for mothers and young children
Milk, fruit and baby formula for pregnant women, new moms and children under 5.
Find a woman doctor
Ask in the sisters' conversations: others share which clinics have good women doctors.
Kids & school
Enrolling in school
Your local public school is free. Bring the birth certificate, vaccine records and proof of address. You can ask the school for a Bengali interpreter.
Children's doctor & vaccines
In Michigan, children's Medicaid (Healthy Kids) usually makes care free.
For yourself
Learning English (ESL)
School districts and libraries run free English classes for adults, often with daytime classes for women.
Learning to drive
Find a woman driving instructor, and practise for the permit test in Bangla.
Earning from home
Cooking, sewing, mehndi, tutoring: open a free page in the sisters' market.
Only official and well-known national helplines are listed here. Let us know if a number changes.