Recovery resources in Fort Worth: housing, food, jobs, IDs and legal help

If you need help now: call 911 in an emergency. In a mental health or substance use crisis, call or text 988, any time. In Tarrant County, you can call or text MHMR's 24/7 ICARE line, 1-800-866-2465. If you or someone you live with could overdose, keep naloxone in the house: see free Narcan in Texas.

Who to call for what

You need	Start here	Contact
Treatment you can't pay for	Tarrant County's OSAR (the Recovery Resource Council, with MHMR of Tarrant County): a free screening and a referral to state-funded care	817-332-6329
A sober place to live	Chartered Oxford Houses: sober living homes in Fort Worth on Find Care	Each listing has the house's phone
Food, or help applying for SNAP	Tarrant Area Food Bank: its Find Food map and its SNAP help line	1-866-430-6143
A job or training	Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County workforce centers	817-413-4000
A Texas ID	Your birth certificate and Social Security card first, then Texas DPS	Steps below
Legal help, or a record sealed	Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas; Tarrant County Volunteer Attorney Services	888-529-5277; 817-338-4092
A doctor without insurance	A community health center; JPS Connection	Find a Health Center; 817-702-1001
Counseling	Our guide to free and low-cost therapy in Fort Worth	MHMR Tarrant, health centers and a training clinic
Help in a crisis	988; MHMR's ICARE line	988; 1-800-866-2465

Free screening and state-funded treatment (OSAR)

Texas pays for drug and alcohol treatment for people who can't afford it. The way in is an OSAR (Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral) program: it screens you for free and refers you to state-funded detox, outpatient or residential care. HHSC says the only requirement for an OSAR is living in Texas; the treatment itself is for adults whose income and resources qualify, and some pay part of the cost.

HHSC's OSAR list names My Health My Resources (MHMR) of Tarrant County and the Recovery Resource Council for Tarrant County, with one number for substance use screening and referral: 817-332-6329, or email [email protected]. The Recovery Resource Council is the OSAR for 12 North Texas counties, Tarrant among them.

• How it works: the screening is free, in person or by telehealth. Call, or start with the council's online "Take the First Step" form. The team looks at how much you use and how it affects your daily life, then refers you to care that fits.
• Paying for treatment: if you're uninsured or underinsured, the team checks whether you're approved for full or partial help paying for the treatment it refers you to.
• While you wait: after the screening, you can have up to six brief counseling sessions with your OSAR counselor.

MHMR Tarrant also runs its own substance use services, with fees on a sliding scale: see free and low-cost rehab in Fort Worth. Live in another county near Fort Worth? Call 2-1-1 (877-541-7905) and ask for the OSAR for your county. Who qualifies, who gets in first and what it costs are in our guide to free and state-funded rehab in Texas.

Sober housing

A sober living home (a recovery residence) is shared, alcohol- and drug-free housing with peer support. It isn't treatment, and Texas doesn't license these homes.

• Oxford Houses. Cima Find Care lists 36 chartered Oxford Houses in Fort Worth, with who each house is for, its beds and its phone number: see sober living homes in Fort Worth. Openings change daily, so each listing links to Oxford House's own live list. The residents run the house and split the bills; Oxford House of Texas puts the usual cost at about $120 to $140 a week, bills paid. There's no set length of stay: you can stay as long as you stay sober, pay your share and follow the house rules.
• Other homes set their own rules and rent. Texas accreditation is voluntary (Health and Safety Code chapter 469): ask a home for its TROHN certificate (TROHN is the Texas affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences) and check it with TROHN. Since September 1, 2025, only accredited recovery houses can receive state money.
• Get every fee in writing, with receipts. Free rent offered if you go to a particular treatment program is a warning sign: paying or receiving anything of value for referrals to recovery homes or treatment is a federal crime (EKRA, 18 U.S.C. 220), and Texas's Patient Solicitation Act bans it too. You choose your own treatment.
• Living in a sober home helps you get an ID. A group home or halfway house can give you a notarized letter confirming your address, which Texas DPS accepts in place of two proofs of residency (see IDs).

How to choose a home, what to ask about medication and drug testing, and your rights under fair housing law: sober living in Texas, explained.

Food and SNAP

• Find food today. The Tarrant Area Food Bank's website has a Find Food map: enter your ZIP code to see the local agencies near you that give out food. Call before you go to confirm hours.
• Get help applying for SNAP. The food bank helps people apply for SNAP (food benefits). Call 1-866-430-6143, or fill out the form on its Apply for Food Benefits page to schedule an appointment or get a call back within two business days to start your application. The form itself isn't a SNAP application. Bring ID for every adult in your household, proof of income and utility bills.
• Or apply yourself at YourTexasBenefits.com, the state's site for applying for SNAP, Medicaid and other benefits. You can check your application's status there or by calling 2-1-1.

A drug felony doesn't by itself keep you off SNAP in Texas. The state ended its lifetime ban on September 1, 2015. Under the current rule (Texas Works Handbook A-230 and 1 TAC 372.501), a person with a felony drug conviction from that date on loses SNAP for two years for violating a condition of parole or community supervision, and for good after another felony drug conviction while getting SNAP. Deferred adjudication isn't a conviction for this rule. If the rule applies to you, HHSC checks that you're following your parole or probation conditions when you apply and when you renew, using Form H1806, Parole or Community Supervision Report, when there's no other proof.

Jobs and job training

• Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County is the public workforce board for Tarrant County, with five workforce centers (plan your visit) and virtual services. Its services are free for eligible Tarrant County residents: job search help, a profile on WorkInTexas.com, the state's job-matching site, and job fairs and hiring events. Call 817-413-4000.
• Training. It pays for career training for eligible job seekers, for jobs on its Target Occupations List, while funding lasts. Its Adult Vocational Academies with Tarrant County College, in fields such as welding and commercial driving, cost nothing for eligible participants. Free adult education classes for people 17 and older cover high school equivalency prep, English, and math, reading and writing.
• Re-entry. Its specialized programs include help for people returning to the community after incarceration, for veterans and for people with disabilities.
• Fidelity bonding. The Texas Workforce Commission gives employers a free bond for a new hire's first six months, which covers the employer against theft, forgery or embezzlement by that employee. It's meant for people employers see as a risk, including people with an arrest or conviction record, people with a history of substance use and people on public assistance. You or the employer can ask for it at any Workforce Solutions office. It doesn't cover poor work or injuries. See TWC: Fidelity Bonding.
• Your record and job applications. After an expunction, and in most cases after an order of nondisclosure, you generally don't have to list the offense on a job application. See clearing or sealing a record.

IDs and vital records

Housing, jobs, benefits and many clinics ask for ID. If you've lost yours, get the documents in this order:

1. Birth certificate (born in Texas). Texas DSHS Vital Statistics charges $22 for a certified copy. Ordering online through Texas.gov needs a mailing address that matches your current Texas driver license or ID; if you don't have one, order by mail or in person. Fees aren't refunded, even if the record isn't found. Foster youth and homeless youth (as federal law defines them) get a birth certificate free, with a certification of homeless status, by mail or in person (Health and Safety Code 191.0049).
2. Social Security card. A replacement card is free from Social Security; don't pay a website to get one. Many adults can request it online with a my Social Security account; otherwise apply with Form SS-5 and one proof of identity. Social Security: 1-800-772-1213. Often you only need to know your number, not the card.
3. Texas ID card from the Department of Public Safety. It's $16 if you're 59 or younger and $6 at 60 or older, good for six years; a replacement is $11. Bring proof of identity (DPS form DL-17 lists what counts) and two documents that show you live in Texas. If you live in a homeless shelter, a group home or halfway house, or get services from a nonprofit, a government agency or a transitional service provider, someone there can instead give you a notarized letter or DPS form DL-5 confirming the address and that they get mail for you. They don't have to come with you (DPS residency rules).

Fee waivers that exist: a Texas ID is free for foster youth and homeless youth, for victims of family or dating violence and their children, and for veterans with a service-connected disability of 60% or more who meet DPS's rules (DPS services and waivers). We found no fee waiver for other adults.

Leaving prison or state jail? Texas Department of Criminal Justice case managers help eligible people order a replacement Social Security card, a certified birth certificate and a DPS ID before release, and hand them over at release (TDCJ Reentry Program). DPS's list of identity documents includes a TDCJ-issued ID.

Legal help and clearing a record

Organization	Help	Who qualifies	Contact
Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas Fort Worth office, 600 East Weatherford St.	Free civil legal advice and services across 114 counties of North and West Texas. Apply online or by phone. In 2026 it also runs a virtual expunction and nondisclosure clinic that covers Tarrant County, among others.	People and families with low income; its "Am I eligible?" page has the details	Legal Aid Line 888-529-5277
Tarrant County Volunteer Attorney Services (TVAS) The Tarrant County Bar Foundation's pro bono program	Volunteer lawyers hold free legal clinics through the year	Tarrant County residents with low income	Tarrant County Bar Association, 817-338-4092
LegalLine Tarrant County Bar Association	Free legal advice by phone from volunteer lawyers on the second and fourth Thursdays of each month, with referrals to legal or social service agencies	Tarrant County residents	Register first on its LegalLine page

Clearing or sealing a record

Texas has two ways to keep an old arrest or case from following you. Which one fits depends on how the case ended.

	Expunction	Order of nondisclosure
What it does	Clears the arrest from your criminal history record. You generally don't have to mention it on a job application.	Seals the offense from the public. Courts, law enforcement, licensing agencies and some other government agencies can still see it.
Usually for	Arrests that didn't end in a conviction, such as an acquittal or charges that were never filed, and Class C misdemeanor deferred adjudication. A conviction can't be expunged.	Deferred adjudication you completed, and some misdemeanor convictions
The law	Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 55A (since January 1, 2025; it replaced chapter 55)	Government Code chapter 411, subchapter E-1

• Waiting periods for nondisclosure (Government Code 411.0725 and 411.0735): after deferred adjudication for a felony, five years from your discharge and dismissal; for a misdemeanor, none or two years, depending on the offense. After a misdemeanor conviction, a Class C can be sealed once you finish your sentence; other misdemeanors wait two years after the sentence ends.
• What blocks it (411.074): a new conviction or deferred adjudication during your supervision or waiting period, other than a fine-only traffic ticket, and some offenses, such as those involving family violence, which never qualify.
• Veterans treatment court graduates can ask for nondisclosure two years after finishing the program (411.0727), except where the case was for driving while intoxicated.
• Immigration: neither an expunction nor a nondisclosure takes away the duty to list the record on immigration forms.

The Texas courts publish model nondisclosure petitions, and TexasLawHelp.org explains how to clear an arrest from your record and lists free expunction and nondisclosure clinics. A lawyer can tell you which one fits your case: ask Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas.

Health care on a sliding fee

Community health centers funded by the federal Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) see you with or without insurance, charge on a sliding scale by income and family size, and can't turn you away because you can't pay. Find the nearest ones by ZIP code with HRSA's Find a Health Center. HRSA's list of Texas health center grantees includes this one in Fort Worth:

Health center	What to know	Call
North Texas Area Community Health Centers Northside, 2332 Beverly Hills Dr.; Southeast, 2909 Mitchell Blvd.; and other sites	If you don't have insurance, you meet a financial counselor, who sets a sliding fee by income and family size; staff also help with Medicaid and CHIP applications and renewals. Counseling for all ages, in person, by phone or by video. Bring ID, proof of address and proof of income.	817-625-4254

• JPS Connection is JPS Health Network's financial assistance program for Tarrant County residents who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, with household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. It's the payer of last resort: if you qualify for another program, such as Medicaid, you apply for that first. Approval lasts up to a year. Apply at a JPS Enrollment and Eligibility Center, online, or by email, fax or mail, with photo ID and proof of income for everyone in your household. Call the Eligibility Center, 817-702-1001.
• Medicaid covers children, pregnant women, some parents and caretakers with low income, people with disabilities and people 65 and older. Texas hasn't expanded Medicaid, so many adults without children don't qualify. See how to apply for Texas Medicaid.
• Rides: Texas Medicaid covers rides to health care appointments if you have no other way to get there. HHSC's Nonemergency Medical Transportation page explains how to set one up.
• Medication for opioid use disorder: see Suboxone doctors and clinics in Fort Worth, methadone clinics in Fort Worth and our guide to getting Suboxone in Texas.

For counseling, see our list of sliding-scale and free counseling in Fort Worth: MHMR Tarrant, the Recovery Resource Council's free youth and veterans counseling, community health centers, Texas Wesleyan's counseling center and NAMI Tarrant County's free groups.

Crisis lines

• Call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: free, private and open 24/7, and you don't have to be suicidal to call. For Spanish, call and press 2. Veterans can press 1.
• MHMR's ICARE Call Center: call or text 1-800-866-2465, or call 817-335-3022. It's Tarrant County's line for mental health and substance use emergencies, open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year (TTY 817-569-4488). Its Mobile Crisis Outreach Team gives face-to-face crisis help to children, teens and adults in Tarrant County, around the clock (MHMR crisis services).
• SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-4357: free, confidential treatment referrals, 24/7, in English and Spanish.
• Call 911 for an overdose or a medical emergency, or if someone is a danger to themselves or others.

For families

• Al-Anon is for family and friends of someone who drinks. There are no dues or fees and no sign-up. Find a meeting in person, by phone or online at al-anon.org or by calling 1-888-425-2666.
• NAMI Tarrant County, the local NAMI for Tarrant, Johnson, Parker and Wise counties, runs support groups, classes and community resources for people living with a mental health condition and their families, including family support groups. NAMI's family support groups are free. Call 817-332-6677; staff call back within 48 hours.
• Helping someone who isn't ready yet: see how to help an alcoholic, and whether you can make someone go to rehab in Texas.

Treatment and support on Cima Find Care

Cima Find Care is a free directory of addiction treatment in Texas. Cima is never paid for referrals, and you call programs directly (how listings work).

• Addiction treatment in Fort Worth: every program, counselor and physician we list, with phone numbers.
• Outpatient programs in Fort Worth with a sliding fee and outpatient programs in Fort Worth that take Medicaid.
• Recovery coaches in Fort Worth: peer support from someone with lived experience.
• Treatment for people in the justice system in Fort Worth: programs with services for people involved with the courts.
• Find your fit: a few quick questions to narrow the list.

Helping someone in another Texas city? See recovery resources in Dallas, recovery resources in Houston, recovery resources in San Antonio, recovery resources in Austin and recovery resources in El Paso, or recovery resources in Texas for what works statewide.

Questions people ask

Where can I find sober living in Fort Worth?

Cima Find Care lists 36 chartered Oxford Houses in Fort Worth, with each house's phone number and a link to Oxford House's live list of openings. For other homes, ask for a TROHN certificate: Texas doesn't license sober homes, and accreditation is voluntary.

Where can I get help applying for food stamps in Fort Worth?

The Tarrant Area Food Bank helps you apply for SNAP: call 1-866-430-6143, or fill out the form on its Apply for Food Benefits page for an appointment or a call back within two business days. You can also apply yourself at YourTexasBenefits.com.

Can I get food stamps with a drug felony in Texas?

Usually, yes. Texas ended its lifetime SNAP ban for drug felonies on September 1, 2015. A person with a felony drug conviction from that date on can lose SNAP for two years for violating parole or community supervision, and for good after another felony drug conviction while getting SNAP.

How do I get a Texas ID if I lost everything?

Start with a certified birth certificate ($22 from Texas DSHS) and a free replacement Social Security card, then apply for a Texas ID at DPS ($16, or $6 at 60 or older). If you live in a shelter, a sober home or a halfway house, a notarized letter from it can stand in for two proofs of residency.

Is there free legal help to clear my record in Fort Worth?

Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas gives free civil legal help to people with low income and runs a virtual expunction and nondisclosure clinic in 2026 that covers Tarrant County: call the Legal Aid Line, 888-529-5277. Tarrant County Volunteer Attorney Services holds free legal clinics for low-income Tarrant County residents.

How long until I can seal a record in Texas?

It depends on the case. After deferred adjudication for a felony, the wait is five years from your discharge; for a misdemeanor, none or two years. After a misdemeanor conviction, a Class C can be sealed once the sentence is done and others two years later. Some offenses never qualify.

What is an OSAR, and who is it in Fort Worth?

Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral: the Texas program that screens you for free and refers you to state-funded detox, outpatient or residential treatment. For Tarrant County, HHSC lists MHMR of Tarrant County and the Recovery Resource Council, at 817-332-6329.

What is JPS Connection, and who qualifies?

JPS Connection is JPS Health Network's financial assistance program for Tarrant County residents who are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, with household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty level. Call the Eligibility Center, 817-702-1001.

Can I get help finding a job with a record?

Yes. Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County's workforce centers help with job searches and training, free for eligible residents, and have programs for people returning from incarceration: 817-413-4000. The Texas Workforce Commission's fidelity bonding program gives an employer a free six-month bond when it hires someone with a record or a history of substance use.

Sources

• Texas HHSC: Outreach, Screening, Assessment and Referral (OSAR) (Region 3, Tarrant County), Adult Substance Use Outpatient Treatment and Texas HHS: Contact (2-1-1 and 877-541-7905)
• Recovery Resource Council: Outreach, Screening, and Referral
• MHMR of Tarrant County: Crisis Services, Contact Us and Substance Use Services
• Oxford House, Inc. and its list of Texas houses and openings; TROHN: Certification
• HB 299 (2023), adding Health and Safety Code chapter 469, and Texas HHSC: Adult substance use recovery residences
• 18 U.S.C. 220 (EKRA) and Texas Occupations Code chapter 102 (Patient Solicitation Act)
• Tarrant Area Food Bank: Home, Apply for Food Benefits and Frequently Asked Questions
• YourTexasBenefits.com; Texas Works Handbook A-230 (SNAP, felony drug convictions); 1 TAC 372.501; Form H1806
• Workforce Solutions for Tarrant County: Job Seeker Services, Plan your visit, Career Training, Adult Education and Specialized Programs
• Texas Workforce Commission: Fidelity Bonding and Fidelity Bonding Program at a glance
• Texas DSHS Vital Statistics: Costs and Fees, Requirements for Online Orders and Certification of Homeless Status
• Social Security: Replace your Social Security card and SSA Office of the Inspector General: cards are free
• Texas DPS: Driver License Fees, Texas Residency Requirement, Services and Waivers, Form DL-5 and Form DL-17
• TDCJ: Reentry Program
• Legal Aid of NorthWest Texas and its office locations; TexasLawHelp.org: 2026 Ongoing Virtual Expunction and Non Disclosure Clinic
• Tarrant County Bar Association: Tarrant County Volunteer Attorney Services, LegalLine and Can't Afford An Attorney?
• Texas Code of Criminal Procedure chapter 55A (expunction); Texas Government Code chapter 411 (orders of nondisclosure, subchapter E-1); Texas Judicial Branch: Orders of Nondisclosure forms
• TexasLawHelp.org: Expunctions vs. nondisclosures, Nondisclosure orders and I need to clear an arrest from my record
• HRSA: Get Health Care, Find a Health Center and Texas Health Center Program awardees (UDS)
• North Texas Area Community Health Centers: Financial Assistance, New Patient, Behavioral Health and Locations
• JPS Health Network: JPS Connection and JPS Connection Program Policy
• Texas HHSC: Nonemergency Medical Transportation Program; KFF: Status of State Medicaid Expansion Decisions
• SAMHSA: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, 988 Lifeline: Get help and SAMHSA: National Helpline
• Al-Anon Family Groups: FAQ and Find a meeting; NAMI Tarrant County, NAMI: NAMI Tarrant County and NAMI: Family Support Group