Netlify Spotlights RIF Surfer, a Free State-by-State Benefits Finder for Laid-Off Workers.

When Amanda Snyder Cathey got laid off, she faced a reality familiar to many: a confusing maze of state benefits, eligibility requirements, and scattered resources. Instead of just navigating it alone, she built RIF Surfer, a free web app that consolidates unemployment, health coverage, SNAP, rental assistance, mental health resources, and job search communities into a single, state-by-state finder.

Cathey built and shipped the tool on Netlify, turning personal frustration into a public resource. The app is now live at rif-surfer.netlify.app, offering plain-language guidance for people who need benefits but lack the time or energy to decode bureaucratic systems.

Layoffs strip away more than just income. They often arrive with a pile of paperwork, deadlines, and acronyms that make it hard to know what help exists or where to start. RIF Surfer addresses this by organizing resources at the state level, eliminating the need to hunt across multiple government sites or Reddit threads.

The app covers:

• Unemployment benefits: eligibility, filing instructions, and timelines
• Health coverage: COBRA alternatives, Medicaid, and ACA marketplace options
• SNAP and rental assistance: food and housing support programs
• Mental health resources: counseling and crisis support
• Job search communities: forums, Slack groups, and networking hubs

Cathey designed the app to be straightforward. Users select their state and get a curated list of resources with direct links and clear descriptions. No jargon, no unnecessary clicks.

Netlify has been highlighting projects like RIF Surfer as part of its ongoing focus on making deployment accessible for builders at any skill level. The platform's continuous deployment model let Cathey push updates quickly, and its global CDN ensures the app loads fast for users across the country.

This spotlight follows Netlify's recent Hot App Summer campaign, which showcased 30 apps in 30 days, including Pantry Chop, an AI recipe planner built by Dana Lawson. Both projects reflect a similar ethos: identifying a personal pain point and building a solution that others can use.

RIF Surfer is a static site, which keeps hosting costs minimal and performance high. Netlify's free tier makes it possible to run a tool like this indefinitely without infrastructure overhead, an important factor when the goal is to provide a no-cost resource to people who are already under financial stress.

Layoffs are up across multiple industries, from tech to retail, and many people affected are encountering the benefits system for the first time. Traditional government websites are often poorly designed, hard to navigate, and assume a level of familiarity with policy language that most people don't have.

RIF Surfer fills a gap by acting as a starting point. It doesn't replace official resources, but it makes them findable. For someone juggling job applications, family obligations, and financial uncertainty, that can make a real difference.

The app is also a reminder of what's possible when deployment friction is low. Cathey didn't need to hire a DevOps team or negotiate hosting contracts. She built something useful, pushed it live, and shared it.

If you or someone you know is navigating a layoff, RIF Surfer is worth bookmarking. The tool is free, easy to use, and designed by someone who understands what it's like to be on the other side of that process.