A local collaborative has launched an online platform that’s meant to help people in the Rochester region easily find services and resources such as food assistance, job training, mental health support, and more.
MyWayfinder was developed by TogetherNow, which worked with IBM and more than 100 partners. It’s based off a vetted service directory developed and maintained by the 211/LIFE LINE, but it’s meant to be self-directed and easier to navigate.
“MyWayfinder was first built with our community,” TogetherNow President Laura Gustin said. “So we've used human-centered design ... through the life of this work. And so every piece of MyWayfinder is really constructed based on community input.”
Gustin offered an example from her own life of when someone might turn to MyWayfinder. She had to help her mother organize palliative care for her father, who was in a nursing home but wanted to spend his last days in his own home.
That meant finding a ramp that went over the front steps so he could get in the house. But there was no simple starting point for that task.
“We ended up calling families and friends and churches and like all over the place," Gustin said. "Because my mom lives in a county that is not this county, and so we didn't have a MyWayfinder.”
She gave some other examples: A college graduate could use it to find help with job searches. And parents could use it to help find affordable child care, a pediatrician, or services their kids might need.
Gustin said the Greece Central School District is using MyWayfinder as part of its community school model to help families connect with supports they need.
“Everyone has a moment in their life where they need some support, and MyWayfinder is really there to help them meet that moment and to find some support with a single click,” Gustin said. “That's something very different than what exists today.”
For example, a Google search will likely turn up results from outside the area, and they may not be up to date, she said.
The site is free, and users have the option to create a profile, which lets them save information they use to apply for services, track their services and progress, and add providers to their care team. The profile also enables users to message their providers.
The site also has a check-in process if a user isn’t quite sure what to search for.
While the site launched publicly Thursday, it's already been tested in the community by over 28,000 users who have conducted 160,000 searches, Gustin said.
“One of the reasons we went through that process is because we wanted to make sure we were going to build something that endured, and that when a person ... began using MyWayfinder in that moment of crisis, it was going to work for them every time,” Gustin said.
