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What people ask for

How many people ask Front Door for each kind of help, where, and when. We keep only counts. We never keep what anyone wrote or who they are.

Staff time and money savedOpen dataFor agencies

Demo dataDemo data, modeled from public data on when people look for help. Our own counts replace it as they grow.

Nothing here is a real count of people. The patterns through the year come from published government and 211 data. The size is made up.

How the demo is madeShow our own counts

Demo data. In the last 12 weeks, people in Tennessee asked most about Housing (54%), then Food (14%) and Money (14%). Rising fastest from the week before: Housing, up 2%.

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Tennessee, Jul 20, 2026 to Oct 11, 2026

QuestionsDemo data
9,080

▲ +1% vs the week before

Needed help this weekDemo data
2,626
Unmet needDemo dataNo program and no listed place nearby fit
1,232

Over time. Questions each week, by kind of help.

Demo data

See the numbers
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareWorkEducationOther (legal help, safety)Total
Week of Jul 2010040236104Under 101810Under 10760
Week of Jul 2710140337105Under 101610Under 10764
Week of Aug 39741038104Under 101510Under 10767
Week of Aug 109941137106Under 10Under 1011Under 10774
Week of Aug 1710241136106Under 101410Under 10772
Week of Aug 2410941036105Under 1014Under 10Under 10769
Week of Aug 3111540434105Under 1014Under 10Under 10761
Week of Sep 712041134105Under 1014Under 10Under 10769
Week of Sep 1412741233106Under 1014Under 10Under 10772
Week of Sep 2111740934105Under 1015Under 10Under 10761
Week of Sep 2811641834105Under 1015Under 10Under 10769
Week of Oct 5883622886Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10642

Ranked. Kinds of help, most asked first, with the change from the week before.

  1. 01Housing4,86354% of all▲ +2%
  2. 02Food1,29114% of all▼ -1%
  3. 03Money1,24214% of all0%
  1. 04Legal help94010% of all0%
  2. 05Health4175% of all0%
  3. 06Work1752% of all0%
  4. 07Safety741% of allNot enough
  5. 08Education631% of allNot enough
  6. 09Care15<1% of allNot enough

Change compares the week of Sep 28 with the week of Sep 21. It shows only when both weeks have 10 or more.

See the numbers
Kind of helpQuestionsChange from the week beforeUnmet
Housing4,863+2%941
Food1,291-1%26
Money1,2420%110
Legal help9400%153
Health4170%Under 10
Work1750%Under 10
Safety74Under 10
Education63Under 10
Care15Under 10

Share by week. Each kind of help's share of all questions, week by week.

Demo data

See the numbers
FoodHousingHealthMoneyCareWorkEducationOther (legal help, safety)
Week of Jul 2013%53%5%14%Under 102%1%Under 10
Week of Jul 2713%53%5%14%Under 102%1%Under 10
Week of Aug 313%53%5%14%Under 102%1%Under 10
Week of Aug 1013%53%5%14%Under 10Under 101%Under 10
Week of Aug 1713%53%5%14%Under 102%1%Under 10
Week of Aug 2414%53%5%14%Under 102%Under 10Under 10
Week of Aug 3115%53%4%14%Under 102%Under 10Under 10
Week of Sep 716%53%4%14%Under 102%Under 10Under 10
Week of Sep 1416%53%4%14%Under 102%Under 10Under 10
Week of Sep 2115%54%4%14%Under 102%Under 10Under 10
Week of Sep 2815%54%4%14%Under 102%Under 10Under 10
Week of Oct 514%56%4%13%Under 10Under 10Under 10Under 10
  1. 01Housing4,86353.6%
  2. 02Food1,29114.2%
  3. 03Money1,24213.7%
  4. 04Other (legal help, safety)1,01411.2%
  5. 05Health4174.6%
  6. 06Work1751.9%
  7. 07Education630.7%
  8. 08Care150.2%

Where. Questions by county in Tennessee.

Demo data

Shading

  • Most questions
  • More
  • Some
  • Fewer
  • Fewer than 10, or none

Most questions

  1. 01Shelby County1,2460%
  2. 02Davidson County983▲ +1%
  3. 03Knox County6860%
  4. 04Hamilton County517▲ +2%
  5. 05Rutherford County5130%
  6. 06Williamson County3660%
  7. 07Montgomery County334▲ +4%
  8. 08Sumner County2780%
  9. 09Wilson County2320%
  10. 10Sullivan County218▲ +5%
  11. 11Blount County1840%
  12. 12Washington County1760%
  13. 13Bradley County1500%
  14. 14Maury County1430%
  15. 15Madison County1340%
See the numbers: County
CountyQuestionsThis weekUnmet
Shelby County1,246417200
Davidson County983334167
Knox County68622194
Hamilton County51716281
Rutherford County51317377
Williamson County36611160
Montgomery County33410058
Sumner County2789046
Wilson County2327936
Sullivan County2187831
Blount County1846626
Washington County1766726
Bradley County1504716
Maury County1433915
Madison County1344314
Sevier County1334013
Putnam County1072512
Anderson County1042212
Robertson County1002012
Greene County871712
Hamblen County831712
Tipton County832112
Cumberland County821712
Coffee County812012
Hawkins County781412
Loudon County781612
McMinn County731312
Bedford County721212
Carter County721212
Dickson County721212
Jefferson County721212
Roane County721212
Gibson County711212
Monroe County701211
Lawrence County691210
Franklin County6412Under 10
Fayette County6212Under 10
Warren County6112Under 10
Cheatham County5712Under 10
Campbell County5312Under 10
Marshall County5012Under 10
Cocke County4812Under 10
Lincoln County4812Under 10
Dyer County4612Under 10
Rhea County4512Under 10
Weakley County4212Under 10
Claiborne County3912Under 10
Henry County3912Under 10
Giles County3012Under 10
Obion County3012Under 10
Marion County2812Under 10
Carroll County2511Under 10
Henderson County2511Under 10
White County2511Under 10
Macon County2411Under 10
Hardin County2210Under 10
McNairy County18Under 10Under 10
Hardeman County17Under 10Under 10
Hickman County15Under 10Under 10
Lauderdale County13Under 10Under 10
Benton County12Under 10Under 10
Bledsoe County12Under 10Under 10
Cannon County12Under 10Under 10
Chester County12Under 10Under 10
Crockett County12Under 10Under 10
Decatur County12Under 10Under 10
DeKalb County12Under 10Under 10
Fentress County12Under 10Under 10
Grainger County12Under 10Under 10
Grundy County12Under 10Under 10
Haywood County12Under 10Under 10
Humphreys County12Under 10Under 10
Jackson County12Under 10Under 10
Johnson County12Under 10Under 10
Lewis County12Under 10Under 10
Meigs County12Under 10Under 10
Morgan County12Under 10Under 10
Overton County12Under 10Under 10
Polk County12Under 10Under 10
Scott County12Under 10Under 10
Sequatchie County12Under 10Under 10
Smith County12Under 10Under 10
Stewart County12Under 10Under 10
Trousdale County12Under 10Under 10
Unicoi County12Under 10Under 10
Union County12Under 10Under 10
Wayne County12Under 10Under 10
Houston CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10
Perry CountyUnder 10Under 10Under 10

Rows that say fewer than 10 are hidden on purpose. When only one row would be hidden, a second one is hidden too, so it cannot be worked out from the total.

Urgent and unmet. The share of questions each week that needed help this week, and the share nothing fit.

Demo data

See the numbers
Needed help this weekUnmet need
Week of Jul 2028%13%
Week of Jul 2728%13%
Week of Aug 328%14%
Week of Aug 1029%14%
Week of Aug 1729%13%
Week of Aug 2429%14%
Week of Aug 3129%13%
Week of Sep 729%14%
Week of Sep 1430%14%
Week of Sep 2130%13%
Week of Sep 2830%14%
Week of Oct 529%13%

Each kind of help. Questions each week for each kind of help, on its own scale.

Demo data

  • Food

  • Housing

  • Health

  • Money

  • Education

  • Work

  • Legal help

See the numbers for every kind of help
FoodHousingHealthMoneyEducationWorkLegal help
Week of Jul 2010040236104101883
Week of Jul 2710140337105101684
Week of Aug 39741038104101586
Week of Aug 10994113710611Under 1087
Week of Aug 1710241136106101485
Week of Aug 2410941036105Under 101481
Week of Aug 3111540434105Under 101478
Week of Sep 712041134105Under 101475
Week of Sep 1412741233106Under 101472
Week of Sep 2111740934105Under 101574
Week of Sep 2811641834105Under 101574
Week of Oct 5883622886Under 10Under 1061

How we count. What each number means and what we keep.

A question
When someone asks Front Door their first question, our matching service sorts it: the kind of help, and whether they need it this week. We add one to the count for that kind of help, place and week.
The place
The ZIP code or county the person gave us, if they gave one. We never use an address, a city block or a phone location.
What we keep
The count, and nothing else: not the words, not a name, not an account, not a browser or network address.
Unmet need
No state or federal program fit the question well, and we list no office, nonprofit or food site for that kind of help in the person's county.
Small counts
Any count under 10 shows as fewer than 10, in the charts too. When only one count in a list would be hidden, we hide a second one too.
Not counted
The demo site, questions about Front Door itself, crisis questions and letters.
Weeks
Weeks start on Monday, in UTC. The page reads the counts again at most every 15 minutes.

Read our privacy page

How the demo is made

The demo is a model, not a count. It shows what this page will look like and the kinds of patterns to expect, until our own counts are large enough to replace it.

  • Size: the model assumes 40,000 questions a week across the country. That number is made up so the charts have something to show.
  • Kinds of help: each kind gets a share of all questions and a month by month pattern, read from the published sources below.
  • Places: each state gets its share by population (Census county estimates for 2024), and each county its share of its state.
  • Housing mixes rent help, which is steady through the year, with help paying utility bills, which rises in winter in colder states and in summer in hotter ones.
  • Urgent and unmet shares in the demo are made up, to show how those charts read.
  • A small fixed wobble keeps each week from looking drawn with a ruler. The same choice always draws the same numbers.

Search trends

We looked for Google Trends numbers for searches like food stamps, SNAP, rent help, Medicaid, child care help, utility help, unemployment, food bank and WIC, in English and Spanish. Google does not allow automated reading of its Trends pages, and Google has not published a dataset for these searches, so we did not use Trends. The demo is modeled from published government and 211 data instead, listed below.

Where each pattern comes from

Food
Food help rises in September and again in November and December, and is lowest in February. From the share of 211 requests that were about food, month by month, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania's open 211 data, the only month-by-month 211 data we found). In November 2025 many states paid partial SNAP benefits during the federal shutdown; the model does not add that event.
Housing
Rent help peaks in January and again from August to October, with a dip in November, following eviction filings in 43 cities and counties tracked by the Eviction Lab, Tacoma among them. About a third of housing questions are about utility bills (211's national split of housing and utility requests in 2025). In colder states that part follows heating help, highest in January and February; in hotter states it follows help with electric bills, higher from spring to fall; states in between get half of each. The shapes come from 211 requests in Western Pennsylvania, where a winter shutoff ban moves electric requests to spring, so the cooling shape is rough.
Health
Medicaid and CHIP applications are steady through the year, highest in January, from CMS application data for 2018, 2019, 2024 and 2025 (the pandemic years are left out). Marketplace open enrollment, November 1 to January 15, adds to it in Washington.
Money
Money mixes steady cash help with the tax season: a quarter of it follows when people file federal returns (IRS 2025 filing season counts, most from February to April), when Washington's Working Families Tax Credit also opens. The other three quarters are kept flat, because we found no monthly pattern for cash help.
Care
Child care help climbs from May and peaks in August, before school starts, from the share of 211 requests about child care, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania; a small sample).
Education
Education help, mostly school supplies, is about three times as high in July and August, from the share of 211 requests about education, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania).
Work
Unemployment help peaks in January, rises again in early July and in December, and is lowest in September, from new unemployment claims (not seasonally adjusted) in every state, 2012 to 2019 and 2022 to 2025, Department of Labor.
Legal help
Legal help is close to flat through the year, from the share of 211 requests about legal help, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania).
Safety
Safety is close to flat through the year, from 211 requests about domestic violence, 2022 to 2024 (Western Pennsylvania). National hotline research finds calls do not rise over the holidays, so the model adds no holiday spike.

How questions split between kinds of help: housing (with utilities) 48% and food 13%, from United Way's national 211 numbers for 2025 (19 million referrals). The rest is split the way 211 requests split in Western Pennsylvania in 2024, the only full breakdown we found. 211 is a phone line for local help, so Front Door's own mix will differ; our counts will show how.

Sources

  1. 1. 2-1-1 Requests/Referrals (2023-2025) and 2-1-1 Requests (2020-2023). United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, hosted by Western Pennsylvania Regional Data Center (WPRDC); license CC BY, historical, coverage 2020-01-01 to 2025-08-27. calendar 2024 rows, level_1/level_2 classification counts Read it
  2. 2. States scramble to send full SNAP food benefits to millions of people after government shutdown ends. Associated Press (Geoff Mulvihill, David A. Lieb), via WHYY, 2025-11-13. 42 million people on SNAP; 'about two-thirds of states had issued only partial benefits or none at all'; USDA guidance Thursday Nov 13 to issue full November allotments Read it
  3. 3. Using 211 Data to Gauge Eighth District Economic Conditions. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, On the Economy (Summers-Gabr, Rodgers), 2026-02-09. Figure 3 text: food assistance requests rose in October 2025, more-substantial increases in November; data from 211 Counts dashboards for AR, IL, KY, MO, TN Read it
  4. 4. Eviction Tracking System: Version 3.0, all sites monthly data. The Eviction Lab, Princeton University (Hepburn, Haas, et al.), 2026 (file downloaded 2026-10-10). columns city, month, filings_2020, filings_avg, filings_avg_prepandemic_baseline. Download page: https://dev.evictionlab.org/eviction-tracking/get-the-data/ (no license stated; footer 'All rights reserved'; cite as Hepburn, Haas, et al., Eviction Tracking System: Version 3.0, Princeton University, 2026). Read it
  5. 5. A New Baseline: Changes to Our Eviction Metrics. The Eviction Lab, 2025-05-08. baseline moved to average of same months across 2023 and 2024 Read it
  6. 6. Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2022. The Eviction Lab (Vallejo, Haas, Hepburn), 2023-03-09. text: Q4 decline 'follows a predictable seasonal pattern'; Jan 2022 ~78,000 filings, Aug 2022 >114,000 Read it
  7. 7. State Medicaid and CHIP Applications, Eligibility Determinations, and Enrollment Data (Performance Indicator dataset), September 2026 release. CMS (data.medicaid.gov), catalog record on data.gov, modified 2026-09-25. columns 'New Applications Submitted to Medicaid and CHIP Agencies' and 'Applications for Financial Assistance Submitted to the State Based Marketplace'; license U.S. Government Works (https://www.usa.gov/government-works); dataset id 6165f45b-ca93-5bb5-9d06-db29c692a360 Read it
  8. 8. Dates and deadlines for 2027 health insurance. HealthCare.gov (CMS), accessed 2026-10-10. 'Starting November 1, you can apply for 2027 coverage'; January 15 last day; enroll by December 15 for January 1 start Read it
  9. 9. Washington health insurance marketplace. healthinsurance.org, 2026-10-05. 'open enrollment period for 2027 coverage runs from November 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027 in Washington' Read it
  10. 10. 2025 Filing season statistics, weeks ending Jan 31, Feb 28, Mar 28, May 2, Oct 17 2025. IRS Newsroom, 2025. 'Total returns received' row. Other pages: https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-jan-31-2025 , https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-feb-28-2025 , https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-march-28-2025 , https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/filing-season-statistics-for-week-ending-may-2-2025 Read it
  11. 11. Working Families Tax Credit application window opens Feb. 1. Washington State Department of Revenue, 2026-01-29. window begins Feb 1, 2026 for tax year 2025; accepted through Dec 31, 2029; up to $1,330; over 675,000 refunds totaling more than $491.4 million since 2023 Read it
  12. 12. Working Families Tax Credit Program, 2025 Report to the Legislature. Washington State Department of Revenue, 2025-12-29. page 2: program begins accepting applications each year on February 1; page 3 Table 2: TY2024 approvals 284,416 (MeF 253,210, MyDOR 28,949, paper 2,257) Read it
  13. 13. IR-2016-143 (archival): refunds claiming EITC or ACTC held until at least Feb. 15. IRS, 2016-10-28. PATH Act refund hold statement Read it
  14. 14. You can begin filing your taxes on Jan. 26 this year. PBS NewsHour, 2026-01-08. 2026 filing season start Jan 26; deadline April 15 Read it
  15. 15. ETA 539 weekly claims data, ar539.csv (state-level, NSA, 1971 to present). U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, Office of Unemployment Insurance, downloaded 2026-10-10, latest week ending 2026-10-03. columns st, rptdate, c3 (initial claims). Example values: US sum week ending 2025-01-11 = 351,735 (2025 high), 2025-09-27 = 178,555 (2025 low); 2025-12-06 = 313,815; 2025-07-12 = 260,103. WA c3 week ending 2026-09-26 = 4,365. Read it
  16. 16. Unemployment Insurance Weekly Claims news release. U.S. Department of Labor, 2026-10-08. page 2 Unadjusted Data: 170,333 NSA initial claims week ending Oct 3; seasonal factors expected +8.7% from prior week. State table: Washington advance 4,814, prior week 4,534. Used to validate the CSV. Read it
  17. 17. Education Department opens 2027-28 FAFSA early, marking program's earliest launch. The National News Desk (Emma Koppelman), via KATU, 2026-09-24. form already open at StudentAid.gov; traditional opening Oct 1; previous earliest Sept 24, 2025; FAFSA Simplification Act requires availability by Oct 1 Read it
  18. 18. The Effect of Holidays on Calls to the National Domestic Violence Hotline: Comparing Average Call Volume. National Resource Center on Domestic Violence (VAWnet), 2020-11-20. description: 'the number of calls actually decreases during the holidays, including on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day' (2004-2019 data in linked PDFs, not opened) Read it
  19. 19. #CallUtilitiesNow: PUC urges consumers to contact utilities as winter termination moratorium ends March 31, 2023. Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, 2023-03-28. 'Between December 1st and March 31st' no shutoffs to income-eligible households; electric, gas, heat-related water Read it
  20. 20. WAC 480-100-143 Winter low-income payment program. Washington State Legislature, current code, accessed 2026-10-10. 'between November 15th and March 15th' utility may not disconnect residential space heating if customer meets conditions (notify, self-certify income, apply for energy assistance, pay plan) Read it
  21. 21. LIHEAP. Washington State Department of Commerce, accessed 2026-10-10. program year Oct 1 to Sep 30; apply once per program year through local agency; income up to 150% FPL Read it
  22. 22. Nearly 1 million assistance calls made to 211 in August. The Source, Washington University in St. Louis (Neil Schoenherr), 2023-09-20. ~150,000 utility payment requests Aug 2023 (+22% vs July); Kreuter: utility payments a particular challenge in late summer Read it
  23. 23. 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2025 data). United Way Worldwide, 2026-03-31. 19 million referrals; housing 6 million, 31%; utilities 3.1 million; food 2.5 million; 27 states where housing+utilities > half Read it
  24. 24. The Facts About 211: 2025 Impact Snapshot. United Way Worldwide, 2026. housing 6M (30%), utilities 3.1M, food 2.5M; ranks #4-#7 without counts Read it
  25. 25. 211 helpline data reveals most pressing U.S. community needs (2024 data). United Way Worldwide, 2025-03-26. 16.8M requests, >18M referrals; housing 5.6M, utilities 2.9M, food 2.5M; housing+utilities 47% Read it
  26. 26. Calls to 211 helpline rise in August to the highest level of 2023. Health Communication Research Lab, Washington University in St. Louis (Garg, Golla, Kreuter), 2023-09-09. 872,079 calls Aug vs 785,654 Jul; ~150,000 utility payment requests (+22%); >280,000 housing (+8%) Read it