Allegheny County has a new health and social services Web site that allows quick sorting through 3,000 agencies and 10,000 programs, and the technology could be copied nationwide over the next few years.
County officials, Downtown-based 3 Rivers Connect and South Side-based MAYA Design unveiled the sophisticated database known as HumanServices.net at a demonstration Tuesday at the Kingsley Center in East Liberty.
Anyone seeking a service such as alcohol counseling or after-school activities, for example, can use the site to find the program best-suited for them in the most convenient location. Typical search engines can force users to sort through dozens of agency Web sites, with no promise of success.
"This is a huge opportunity for Pittsburgh to be a genuine pioneer," said Peter Lucas, MAYA's founder and principal.
Database technology used in HumanServices.net is similar to systems MAYA developed for the U.S. military, and used in Iraq. "This is the way communities will run themselves in the future," he said.
Starting at the site's home page, 3 Rivers CEO Chris Sweeney used the key words "alcohol abuse" to find counseling services by neighborhood. Then Sweeney found bus route information through a link to the Port Authority's trip-planning tool.
United Way of Allegheny County put its Help Connections resource listings into HumanServices.net, seeing the new database as a good central location that can be updated as needed, said Jennifer M. Michaux, community impact director.
Seven foundations provided $550,000 used to develop the site. Eventually, it could become part of a widespread database known as the Information Commons that would blend a myriad of facts, such as home values, income and crime levels and recreational offerings by neighborhood.
Larger text
Smaller text
Print this article
E-mail this article
