Cook County, Illinois vs Davidson County, Tennessee

AABD Cash is a state cash-assistance supplement for Illinois residents age 65+, blind, or disabled who have little or no income. It supplements federal SSI up to the Illinois payment standard and is available to some seniors who do not qualify for SSI. Administered by IDHS; apply through ABE (abe.illinois.gov) or a local Family Community Resource Center.

Estimated cash: $600–$6,000 a year

Illinois law directs counties to fund emergency and interim financial assistance for veterans in need through county Veterans Assistance Commissions (VACs). Under the Military Veterans Assistance Act, honorably discharged veterans, their families, and the families of deceased veterans who need assistance can receive help through the VAC in their county — typically short-term aid toward needs like food, shelter, and utilities, based on each commission's standards of need. The commissions are staffed by fellow veterans and run county by county, so the exact assistance and screening rules are local. An Illinois Department of Veterans' Affairs Veteran Service Officer can point to the nearest commission and help with the request.

Cook County emergency aid: (1) DISTINCTIVE to Illinois — township General Assistance (GA): suburban Cook County townships (e.g., Proviso, Thornton, Maine, Niles, Cicero, Worth, and others) provide emergency 'General Assistance' for residents with little or no income — help with rent, utilities, food, and personal needs (this is Illinois's analog to Indiana's township trustee relief). Find your township supervisor through the county. (2) For City of Chicago residents (Chicago is NOT in a township), the city's Department of Family & Support Services Community Service Centers + the Utility Billing Relief program. (3) CEDA for LIHEAP/CSBG utility and rent help. (4) Cook County Health CareLink for medical bills. (5) Salvation Army / St. Vincent de Paul / Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago. (6) Greater Chicago Food Depository. (7) Dial 211.

Estimated bill savings: $200–$3,000 a year

Comprehensive Care in Residential Settings is an Illinois demonstration project that offers a social model of affordable assisted living. It combines affordable rent with state-assisted care services provided through the Illinois Department on Aging's Community Care Program. Services include 24-hour security, three meals a day, help with activities of daily living, an emergency response system, housekeeping, laundry, and medication management. Services are tailored to each resident through an assessment done by a local Care Coordination Unit. To qualify you must be 60 or older, live in Illinois, be a U.S. citizen or an eligible non-citizen, have non-exempt assets of $17,500 or less (your home, car, and personal furnishings do not count), have an assessed need for long-term care measured by the Determination of Need assessment, and apply for Medicaid. Call the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966 to find your local Care Coordination Unit.

Affordable assisted living for people who would otherwise need a nursing home. Illinois Medicaid pays a certified Supportive Living Program building for personal care, medication oversight, intermittent nursing, meals and snacks, housekeeping, laundry, social and health programs, and 24-hour staff. The resident lives in an apartment with a kitchenette and private bathroom and pays only room and board (a monthly charge based on the SSI rate; residents keep a $120 personal needs allowance). It is for Illinois residents age 65 and older, or ages 22 to 64 with a physical disability, who are screened as needing nursing-facility level of care. Find a certified building on the HFS provider list and call the Bureau of Long-Term Care at 217-782-0545 or toll-free 844-528-8444.

H.O.P.E. helps people living in a Cook County nursing facility who want to move back into the community. If you have lived in a Cook County nursing facility for at least 60 days and qualify for Medicaid, a H.O.P.E. team member works with you and your facility care team on a person-centered plan — housing, services and supports — and helps protect your rights during the move. There is no cost to take part. To start, call 800-699-9043, ask your facility's Social Service Director, or speak to a H.O.P.E. team member when they visit your facility.

Illinois Care Connections provides free technology and assistive devices to Illinoisans age 60 and older who live in the community. Devices are meant to help people stay safely at home, take part in activities, and keep in touch with family and friends. Examples include tablets, laptops, headphones and Wi-Fi routers; canes, walkers, wheelchairs, shower chairs and adaptive kitchen tools; and smart-home items like video doorbells, keyless locks and voice assistants. There are no income or asset limits, but there must be a physical, functional, cognitive, or psychological need that keeps you from doing a task at home or in the community, or that leaves you socially isolated. Devices and usage instructions are provided at no cost. You cannot refer yourself: a referral must come from an Area Agency on Aging, an AAA-funded provider, an Adult Day Service, Adult Protective Services, a Care Coordination Unit, or a Home Care Ombudsman. The program does not cover hearing aids, prescription items, installed grab bars or shower seats, or electric scooters and wheelchairs. Contact IATP at 217-522-7985 with questions about a referral.

The Illinois Volunteer Money Management Program matches a trained, bonded volunteer with an older adult who has trouble keeping up with household finances. Volunteers help organize and pay bills, set up a budget, balance a checkbook, deal with creditors, and can serve as a Social Security representative payee. It is a protective service for low-income older adults who are Community Care Program (CCP) participants or who have a substantiated Adult Protective Services case, offered in about 60 counties (and several Cook County townships). Contact the local Care Coordination Unit or call the Senior HelpLine at 1-800-252-8966.

Money to help grandparents and other older relatives who are raising a child. If you are over 55 and are the primary caregiver for a child related to you by blood, marriage, or adoption, the Relative Caregiver Program can cover or supplement the cost of after-school care, tutoring, and summer or day camp — respite and enrichment that gives the caregiver a break. GNRC states funds are available immediately. Call (615) 862-8828 to ask about eligibility, or the aging and disability helpline at 1-866-836-6678.

Flexible state-funded help so people with severe disabilities can stay in their homes with their families. Funds can pay for respite care, day care, home and vehicle modifications, equipment, personal assistance, transportation, and other supports the family chooses. It serves adults with severe disabilities (including those living with family or on their own without other residential program support) and families with children with severe disabilities. There is a Family Support agency for every county in the state — contact the Department of Disability & Aging regional office to find yours and apply.

Estimated service value: $0–$6,000 a year

OPTIONS is Tennessee's state-funded (non-Medicaid) home and community based services program. It provides homemaker services, personal care, and home-delivered meals to help adults with physical or cognitive disabilities stay in their own home. There is no income limit — a sliding fee based on income applies. Contact your Area Agency on Aging & Disability.

Estimated service value: about $0 a year

A grant, not a loan, to fix an essential system or a serious structural problem that puts a low-income homeowner's life, safety, or health in danger. It is for Tennessee homeowners who are 60 or older or who have a disability, who live in the home as their main residence and have lived there at least three years. Typical work: heating or cooling failures, plumbing or electrical hazards, roof damage, and accessibility repairs. The lifetime maximum per homeowner is $24,999. THDA does not take applications directly; apply through the local ERP agency for your county (THDA publishes the agency list on the program page, or email ERP@THDA.org to be pointed to the right one).

Estimated service value: $500–$24,999 a year

Tennessee's Public Guardianship for the Elderly program serves as the court-appointed guardian (conservator) for adults 60 and older who cannot make decisions about their health or money because of physical or mental limitations, and who have no family member, friend, bank, or organization able and willing to serve. The program is available in all 95 counties through the local Area Agency on Aging and Disability. Some people pay a fee based on income or resources; people with low income or SSI pay nothing. Call 1-866-836-6678 to reach your AAAD.

Estimated service value: about $0 a year

Tennessee exempts disabled veterans from the county motor vehicle privilege tax — the county 'wheel tax' collected with the annual vehicle registration. The exemption covers any veteran with a 100% permanent, total disability from a service-connected cause, and any former prisoner of war as determined by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. To claim it, show evidence of the disability to the county office that collects the tax, usually the county clerk at registration renewal. The dollar savings equals the county's wheel tax, which varies by county.

Tennessee's Property Tax Relief Program reimburses part of the property tax paid by low-income homeowners who are 65 or older or disabled (and disabled veterans, with no income limit). For the 2026 program, elderly and disabled homeowners must have had 2025 income of $38,470 or less; relief is calculated on up to $33,600 of the home's market value. Apply through your county trustee after you get your property tax bill.

Estimated bill savings: $100–$1,200 a year