Red Cross Gas Assistance: What the Red Cross Covers and Where to Get Gas Help Instead

What Red Cross gas assistance really means

The American Red Cross is a nonprofit, not a government agency, and its help focuses on disasters, blood, and service to the armed forces. When people talk about Red Cross gas assistance, they usually mean one of three things:

• Disaster help: after a home fire or disaster, the Red Cross gives emergency help for immediate needs. Whether any of it can go toward gas depends on the situation and the local chapter, so ask.
• Military emergencies: the Hero Care Network can help eligible military families ask a military aid society for emergency money, for example to travel home for a family emergency.
• Referrals: Red Cross caseworkers and chapter staff often point people to local agencies that do give gas cards.

If you have not had a fire, disaster, or military emergency, the Red Cross is usually not able to help with gas. That is not a judgment about your need; it is simply how its funding works. The sections below show where to go instead.

Help after a home fire or disaster

Red Cross volunteers respond to home fires and local disasters every day. When your home is damaged or you have to leave it, a local team meets with your household, offers comfort, and provides help for immediate needs such as lodging, food, and clothing. Caseworkers follow up to help replace lost medications and glasses and to connect you with longer-term recovery resources. The Red Cross also keeps a disaster recovery page with steps to take and a directory of local services.

To ask for help, call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767), or ask the fire department or emergency manager at the scene to contact the Red Cross. You do not need insurance or a certain income. Help is free. Tell the caseworker plainly about any transportation need, such as getting to a temporary home, a job, or medical care, and ask what they can do or who they can refer you to.

For more on emergency lodging, see our guide to American Red Cross hotel vouchers, and for the full list of programs after a fire, see government assistance for house fire victims.

Hero Care for military families and veterans

The Red Cross Hero Care Network works 24 hours a day. When a family emergency happens, such as a death or serious illness, it sends a verified message to the service member and their command. It can also open a case to connect eligible people to emergency financial help from the military aid societies.

The money itself usually comes from the aid society for that branch, often as an interest-free loan or a grant:

Call the Hero Care Center at 1-877-272-7337, use the free Hero Care app, or submit a request online. The Red Cross says Hero Care caseworkers can help eligible service members, military retirees, and their families with these requests. Veterans who are not retirees can still get information and referrals through the Red Cross veteran services.

The Red Cross compared with other gas help

Where to get gas help for everyday needs

For gas outside a disaster, start with 211. It is free and confidential, and the specialist knows which local groups have gas money right now. Our guide to 211 gas vouchers explains what to say on the call.

• The Salvation Army: many local offices help with gas, bus fare, or other travel when funds allow. See our guide to Salvation Army free gas vouchers.
• Community action agencies: funded in part by the federal Community Services Block Grant, they offer emergency help that sometimes includes transportation.
• Churches and Catholic Charities: small, one-time gas cards are common, often after a short interview.
• Your state TANF office: some states give one-time diversion payments that can cover car or travel costs for families with children.

Local gas help is limited and often runs out early in the month, so call several places on the same day and have your ID and a reason for the trip ready.

Gas and rides for medical appointments

If the trip is for medical care, gas cards are often not the best route. Medicaid must make sure members have a way to get to covered care, through non-emergency medical transportation. Depending on your state, that can mean a scheduled ride, a bus pass, or gas mileage paid back to you or a friend who drives you. Call the number on your Medicaid card a few days before the appointment.

Veterans may get VA travel pay for trips to VA or approved care, based on mileage. Cancer centers, dialysis clinics, and hospitals often have social workers with gas cards or ride programs, so ask your care team too.

Gas money for work and job searches

If you need gas to get to a new job, training, or interviews, ask your local American Job Center. Under the federal workforce law, these centers can provide supportive services such as transportation for people in their training programs, when local funds allow. Find the nearest center through CareerOneStop. People getting SNAP may be in an employment and training program that pays for travel costs while taking part. Your caseworker can tell you what your state offers.

After a federally declared disaster

After a large disaster, the Red Cross opens shelters and works alongside government agencies. If the President declares a disaster with individual assistance, FEMA may help with uninsured needs, which can include repairing or replacing a vehicle damaged by the disaster. Apply with FEMA directly; the Red Cross does not take FEMA applications, though caseworkers can help you understand the process. FEMA help is free, and nobody should charge you to apply.

Avoiding fake Red Cross offers

Scammers use the Red Cross name in texts and social media posts that promise free gas cards. The real Red Cross will not ask you to pay a fee, buy a gift card, or give bank passwords to receive help. If a message claims to be from the Red Cross, do not click its links. Call 1-800-RED-CROSS or find your local chapter on redcross.org instead.

What to do today, step by step

1. If you had a fire or disaster, call 1-800-RED-CROSS and explain your transportation need.
2. If you are a military family with an emergency, call Hero Care at 1-877-272-7337.
3. For everyday gas, dial 211 and ask which agencies have gas help this week.
4. Call the Salvation Army and one or two churches the same day.
5. For medical trips, call your Medicaid plan or the VA about rides and mileage.
6. Apply for SNAP if money is tight; it frees up cash for gas. Check with our SNAP calculator.

Related guides

• Gas vouchers near me
• Catholic Charities gas vouchers
• Emergency gas vouchers near me
• Salvation Army transportation assistance

Frequently asked questions

This guide is general information. National Relief Program is an independent website and is not affiliated with the American Red Cross or any government agency. Local help and funding vary.