Guiding Minnesotans Living with Long COVID & ME/CFS to Secure In-Home Help

Our pilot program offers free support for Minnesotans with energy-limiting illness

We’re excited to announce the official launch of the Minnesota Home Help Navigation Program, a new pilot program created by #MEAction and funded by a grant from the Minnesota Department of Health’s Long COVID Program.

Our navigator provides one-on-one support applying for in-home help through Minnesota's Medical Assistance (Medicaid) program. It's free for Minnesotans living with Long COVID, ME/CFS, and related energy-limiting illness.

In-home help can provide support with cooking, cleaning, and other daily tasks—freeing up energy for work, social activities, or rest, and helping people live more independently.

Yet applying for the state programs that pay for this care is often difficult, especially for those living with fatigue, brain fog, and post-exertional malaise. People also may not realize the ways they can qualify for help.

That’s where our new pilot program comes in. Our navigator provides one-on-one support applying for in-home services—assisting with paperwork, explaining options, virtually attending assessments, and communicating with case managers. Our goal is to make the state’s system easier for people to navigate so that they can start receiving help in their homes.

This program is the result of more than a year of careful design by our #MEAction team. It’s the first of its kind in the nation — and an example of what’s possible when people with lived experience lead solutions.

Check out the program’s new website and help us spread the word to Minnesotans about this important resource.

More about the program

• A medical diagnosis is not required to get help. We know many people don’t have a diagnosis that explains their symptoms.

• This is a small pilot program with limited space.

• The navigator cannot provide emergency or crisis services.

• We prioritize the inclusion of underrepresented groups, including people of color and LGBTQ+ participants.

• Participants must live in Minnesota, be 18 or older, be a U.S. citizen or have a qualifying immigration status, as required for Minnesota Medicaid, and be able to communicate in English with our navigator or have someone who can help them do so.

If you are able, please support our work so we can continue to expand innovative programs like this and Canary Corps to other states in the coming future. Together, we are building systems of care that recognize and meet the needs of people living with Long COVID and ME/CFS.

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