Residents of Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin counties now have easier access to local support services, thanks to a new online directory launched by the West Mountain Regional Health Alliance (WMRHA).

Accessible in both Spanish and English, the directory includes links to free, reduced-cost and low-income services across 12 categories: animal and pet care, community and personal safety, disabilities and special needs, employment and personal development, financial assistance, food, health, housing, legal services, mental and behavioral health, transportation and youth and family support.

The directory also links to other regional service listings as well as details on service cost and eligibility. The resource will be updated on a quarterly basis, said Berta Rivera, regional health connector at WMRHA. 

“The resource directory is all encompassing, so it has resources from all across the board — mental health, substance use, housing, food , education, volunteer, youth and family for mothers, sexual abuse, pet services,” Rivera said. “Having one location for people to go to is so important because people can get overwhelmed by what’s out there sometimes or even struggle to start. Google has so much information that it can sometimes be more harmful than it is helpful.”

The project supports WMRHA’s mission to build an integrated regional health system and expand access to quality care for all community members. Rivera hopes the directory will serve as a centralized hub for individuals seeking help as well as case managers and local nonprofits. 

“Coming into the role (of regional health connector), the first thing I was asked to do was to make a needs assessment of what are the top issues or barriers in the counties, and amongst the top three for (Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin) was access — access to care, and access to resources,” Rivera said. 

“This was an ask by community members as well as community organizations like nonprofits,” she added.

Rivera spent the past year and a half collecting and translating resources and building the online platform. 

“It’s meant for everybody — community members and community partners, like nonprofits and clinics and hospitals,” Rivera said. “This is just the beginning of this tool, but going forward with everyone’s input and feedback, it can be an official tool for everyone.

“With it, you can see…what are all of the resources and services that are being provided?” she added. “You can also see what people are needing the most and what the gaps are.”

The online directory is available at westmountainhealthalliance.org/resources/. To provide feedback, fill out a two-minute survey at surveymonkey.com/r/J69D3GL.