Cash & income

General Assistance or Emergency Assistance payment

Separate from its ARPA programs, the Native Village of Barrow runs the BIA General Assistance program: monthly help for essential needs when you have no other income. You must be Alaska Native or American Indian, enrolled in a federally recognized tribe (or have a CDIB), and live in the NVB service area (Utqiaġvik). Fill out the General Assistance Application and bring it with ID and proof of income to Workforce Development at the NVB office, 6090 Boxer St, or email workforcedev@nvb-nsn.gov; questions 907-852-4411.

There is no permanent free tax-prep site in Utqiaġvik. Options: (1) Alaska Business Development Center's Volunteer Tax & Loan Program sends volunteer preparers to rural Alaska communities each tax season and helps by phone/remote — call 907-562-0335 or toll-free 1-800-478-3474 (Mon–Fri 9–5) to ask whether your village is on this year's route or how to send documents; (2) the IRS VITA/TCE locator, 800-906-9887, for free help if you earn roughly $67,000 or less, have a disability, or limited English; (3) AARP Foundation Tax-Aide, 888-227-7669 (Jan–Apr, any age). PFD income is taxable — bring your 1099 from the PFD Division. Ask your tribal office or Iḷisaġvik College about any pop-up tax clinic announced on KBRW.

Use myAlaska to file, reopen or manage an unemployment claim. Contact a claim center for help with an application. The State determines eligibility.

To open a child-support case, get payments enforced, or check your case, use the Alaska Child Support Services Division: 907-269-6900 (Anchorage main office, 550 W 7th Ave Suite 310; fax 907-787-3220). Members use the online Client Portal (not myAlaska any more) at childsupport.alaska.gov to see case info and make payments; call customer service if you do not have your ID numbers. Tribal members can also ask the Native Village of Barrow Tribal Court (907-852-8918) about tribal child-welfare matters, but child-support collection is a state CSSD function.

There is no Social Security office on the North Slope. Apply for retirement, disability (SSDI/SSI), a replacement card, or Medicare online at ssa.gov, or call SSA at 1-800-772-1213 (TTY 1-800-325-0778), Monday–Friday 8am–7pm; the nearest offices are Fairbanks and Anchorage. For free, unbiased help understanding Medicare (Part D, supplements, low-income subsidy) use the Alaska Medicare Information Office / SHIP through the Aging & Disability Resource Center at 1-877-625-2372. Iḷisaġvik College and the NSB Senior Program (907-852-0276) can help elders get online.

Ukpeaġvik Iñupiat Corporation shareholders and their descendants deal with the UIC Stock Department for dividend questions, direct deposit and address changes, stock wills, and Class B stock applications for descendants born after 1971 (application and instructions are on the shareholder page). Stock Department: 907-852-7444 (toll-free support 1-844-673-4460, fax 907-802-3141), 1250 Aġvik St, Utqiaġvik (P.O. Box 890, 99723). The Shareholder Portal on uicalaska.com shows election results and lets you manage your account; UIC main office 907-852-4460.

Arctic Slope Regional Corporation pays dividends to its roughly 14,000 shareholders and handles stock wills, address and direct-deposit changes, and enrollment of descendants through Shareholder Services at its Utqiaġvik headquarters, 907-852-8633 (P.O. Box 129, Utqiaġvik, AK 99723). Scholarships are NOT handled here — those go through the Arctic Education Foundation (907-852-9456). Dividend distribution dates and forms are posted for shareholders on asrc.com/shareholders and the ASRC shareholder portal.

ASNA Social Services, 907-852-9379, serves enrolled tribal members from all eight North Slope villages no matter where they live. Programs: Burial Assistance (funeral costs when the estate cannot cover them — call for eligibility screening; villages also run their own burial programs); Emergency Assistance (limited money after a fire, flood or similar loss, as a secondary resource); General Assistance (food, shelter, utilities or clothing — call for an initial screening); Higher Education, Job Placement and Vocational Training (scholarships and job-skills training); and the Family Preservation & Child Welfare Program (parenting resources, rental assistance, cribs, winter gear, car seats, food and more for families with an open OCS or tribal case or in crisis — members of seven villages; Native Village of Barrow runs its own Family Preservation program from 10/1/2025). ASNA main line: 907-852-2762. (Source: North Slope Borough Health & Social Services resource guide.)

The Alaska Temporary Assistance Program (ATAP) is Alaska's version of TANF — monthly cash assistance plus work and job support for low-income families that include a child under 19 or a pregnant member. Besides the cash benefit, it can help with work-related costs like transportation, car repairs, a driver's license, interview clothing, and tools or equipment for a job. To qualify you must be an Alaska resident, a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, have countable resources under $2,000 ($3,000 if someone is 60 or older), and meet the income limit for your family size. Apply online through the Alaska Connect Portal or with a paper application to your local Division of Public Assistance office (statewide DPA line 800-478-7778); a caseworker then sets up an eligibility interview.

The Permanent Fund Dividend (PFD) is a yearly payment to eligible Alaska residents from the state's oil-wealth fund. Apply online at pfd.alaska.gov during the application window (January 1 to March 31 each year). You must have lived in Alaska for the full prior year.