Need help? New online platform connects residents with resources

Finding help just got easier for local residents thanks to a new online platform called Dubois County Resources.

Launched through a partnership between the Jasper-Dubois County Public Library, the Dubois County Public Health Partnership, and the Dubois County Community Foundation, the new social care network connects people to programs designed to assist them in day-to-day struggles.

Anyone can visit duboiscountyresources.org and enter their zip code to be connected to a multitude of available resources in the community. Those resources cover things like food insecurity, housing and utility help, transportation, tax preparation, legal help and even job placement.

“We have many nonprofits and social care providers in our community, but for many people, navigating the system to get help can be difficult, time consuming and frustrating,” said Christine Golden, Jasper-Dubois County Public Library director.

As the center for a lot of information as well as access to different services, the libraries in this county often fill social service roles they aren’t necessarily equipped to handle. Those personal relationships that are built between patrons and librarians create safe spaces for conversations and questions that go beyond the scope of what the library is known to provide.

The new platform started as an idea during a meeting being held to discuss food insecurity in Dubois County. Golden had attended the meeting to listen to the discussion and gain insight into the realities of food insecurity in the county.

During that meeting, the group began discussing how many local resources existed but were unknown by most people in the county. “As a group, we all started thinking about how many of us don’t know what other groups are doing,” Golden explained. “If the people involved in this meeting don’t know, what are the chances the public don’t know?”

The idea of a central platform connecting residents to all the many programs available in the county as well as the region began to form. With a grant from the Dubois County Community Foundation, the group worked with a company, Aunt Bertha, to create the social care platform connecting people to the many services that are available.

For Golden, this means that anyone coming to a librarian for help will have quick and easy access to finding that qualified help online.

“We have a lot of questions about legal services and food assistance,” Golden admitted. “But what we are really excited about is the people this can reach who are afraid or embarrassed to ask for help.”

“There are a lot of people who are insecure about asking for help,” she added. “The goal is to help everyone, regardless of background or means, find the help they need with dignity and ease.”

With the initial launch announced today, the site includes a core list of services in the community but the organizers acknowledged they are relying on services or organizations not listed to reach out to them to be included on the platform. As the site develops, the organizers hope more groups will get involved to update and add their information to the site to continue to build up the information. Through Aunt Bertha’s platform, these organizations can easily connect and be verified to be added as a resource.

“Dubois County Resources makes it easy for people facing social needs – and those who help others – to find appropriate programs and services for food, shelter, health care, work and more,” said Jodi Richardson, Dubois County Public Health Partnership.