Community Resources

Ellipsis is central Iowa’s critical safety net for kids and families in need. By providing the care, encouragement and skills development needed for a lifetime of success, they're breaking down barriers, rewriting stories and empowering families to thrive together.

Help line: (515) 243-3459

At DMACC’s Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families, located on the DMACC Urban Campus, they are helping families and individuals improve their financial position as DMACC helps them achieve their work and career goals.

Phone: (515) 697-7700

EveryStep is an umbrella organization for HCI Hospice Care Services, Visiting Nurse Services of Iowa, Amanda the Panda, and 30 other programs and services. Services include support and education to young moms; assistance to immigrants and refugees; wellness services to communities; in-home care to people who are ill, injured or facing the end of life; and compassionate support to families during times of grief and loss.

Hospice Referrals: (515) 333-5810

Home Care Referrals: (515) 558-9591

Contract Nursing Phone: (800) 806-9934

Unity Point's Eyerly Ball Community Mental Health Services offers a full continuum of mental health services and treatment to meet the needs of our community, from family and individual counseling to outpatient care for all ages.

Phone: (515) 241-0982

After hours mental health crisis line: (515) 205-9213

StudentAid.gov is the U.S. Dept. of Education's online financial aid form, commonly known as the FAFSA. Financial aid is money distributed by institutions to families to help them pay for college or technical school in the form of grants, work-study, loans, and scholarships to help make college or technical school affordable.

As of July 2023, Bidwell Riverside Center and Hawthorn Hill officially merged into Families Forward, an organization where the original four programs - Bidwell Pantry, Child Development Center, New Directions Shelter, and The Home Connection -  work together to provide compassionate, life-changing assistance to families and their path to self-sufficiency.​

Families Forward Phone: (515) 244-9748

The Bidwell Pantry & Child Development Center Phone: (515) 989-8413

Information on housing rights and what to expect when searching for housing with a criminal record. Information compiled by Iowa Legal Aid.

Phone: (800) 532-1275

Food Bank of Iowa is dedicated to providing enough food for every Iowan in our service area to live a healthy, active life. We distribute more than 18 million meals each year through 700 partner agencies and dozens of program sites.

Phone: (515) 564-0330

Free online education on 200+ topics presented in simple, step-by-step instructions in several different languages.  Topics include computers & programming, social media & email, math & grammar, workplace skills & job searching, and more.  

Goodwill of Central Iowa Helps people with barriers to employment earn and keep jobs in our community in addition to accepting donations of clothing and other household items.

Main Office Phone: 515-265-5323 
Main Office:  5355 NW 86th St., Johnston, Iowa 50131

WDM Phone: 515-225-1908

West Des Moines: 1600 Valley West Drive, West Des Moines, Iowa 50265         

GDM Habitat is a nonprofit, ecumenical Christian ministry founded on the conviction that every person should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live. They operate two local ReStore locations and provide home ownership and home preservation services to those in need. 

Phone: (515) 471-8686

Home, Inc's mission is to create opportunities for quality, affordable housing. They help renters, tenants and landlords throughout Iowa understand their housing rights and responsibilities by providing counseling and education. 

Rental Housing Hotline:      1-515-243-1277