New website in Hamilton County aims to help residents navigate all community resources

Hamilton County’s government has launched a new website that aims to be a one-stop shop for residents looking for help, from mental health support to where to find food.

County officials say they spent roughly $70,000 in opioid settlement money to create a portal aimed at helping residents navigate all the different resources in the community.

In a video posted to the website's homepage, Hamilton County Commissioner Mark Heirbrandt describes the new tool simply.

“At Navigate Hamilton County, we make it simple to find help, give help, and get help all in one place,” he said.

The website allows residents to put in their area code and select the kinds of services they need, everything from legal aid to foster care and even aging assistance.

Monica Greer is the Executive Director of the Hamilton County Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs. She said residents can also choose to be connected via email or phone with a “navigator” who will help talk them through how to get connected with help.

“We have live navigators in Hamilton County that are willing to talk with them, text them, email them, however, communication style they want to use, and just help them get the resources that they might need,” she said.

According to Greer, the goal will be to have navigators who have some connection to the resource a resident is seeking out - pairing a veteran navigator with a veteran resident, as one example. Navigators will respond to any request within 24-hours.

There are currently fifteen navigators on staff, but Greer said the plan will be to have between twenty and twenty-five eventually.

“I think a lot of times people are in a state of stress and they don't know where to turn, they don't know how to communicate sometimes what they need,” she said. “I think that that is the secret to helping people get to where they need to go, and having someone hold their hand and walk them through it.”

New resources will continue to be added to the site, and Greer hopes that it will also help the county track what kinds of services are most needed based on the volume of requests for specific services that come in and where in the county they originate from.

“We're just really proud of the different agencies that have come together,” she said. “It's a big puzzle. Our community has been working on this kind of work for many years, and it's really come to fruition.”

You can visit the website and explore the available resources at navigatehc.org.

Contact Health Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org.