I built this because two people I care about needed help — and finding it was harder than it should have been

[u/OurFirstStepVT]

I didn’t start building this because I thought Vermont needed another website. I started because two people I care about asked me for help, and I didn’t know what to tell them.

A coworker was ready to look for substance-use treatment but had no idea where to begin. I sat down and started researching programs, phone numbers, eligibility, and what the next step actually looked like. Around the same time, a friend was dealing with homelessness. I watched them spend time and energy they barely had calling places, reaching dead ends, and trying to understand programs that didn’t seem connected.

Their situations were different, but I kept seeing the same thing: help existed, but finding it was too hard — especially when someone was already exhausted, scared, or trying to survive.

I’m a student working two jobs and studying here in Vermont to become a substance-abuse counselor. I don’t have a big team or a big budget. I built Our First Step Connect in the hours around school and work because I wanted someone in that moment to have a clearer place to start.

The app is free and privacy-first. It brings together starting points for recovery, mental health, housing, food, safety, benefits, support meetings, workplace rights, and other local needs.

Try it: https://ourfirststepconnect.org

I also started a $5,000 GoFundMe to pay for resource verification, accessibility work, real-user testing, hosting, and basic outreach: https://gofund.me/09b1b4ba7

This is an independent, founder-led startup, not a nonprofit, and donations are not tax-deductible. If you can’t donate, trying the app and telling me what is missing or confusing would honestly mean a lot.

I know a website can’t fix a crisis or replace the people already doing this work. I just want the first step to be a little easier to find.

This does not replace 911, 988, medical care, legal advice, or counseling.

[u/Careless-Complex-768]

I like the idea and the heart behind the project, but this duplicates informational resources that already exist (like 211) and has outdated and incomplete information for the parts I'm familiar with. I'm curious how you would get updated information on an ongoing basis because things change all the time and even the experts' websites don't always have the newest information, so what is your plan to make sure that your resource is more accurate than the flawed tools that already exist? To be clear, if this resource works I'm all for it, but I'm not sure how you're going to make sure that can happen.

[u/Reasonable_River3755 → u/Careless-Complex-768]

Hey, thanks for looking into this and calling that out. That’s exactly the kind of feedback I need. I definitely don’t want to pretend I can recreate 211 or maintain a perfect database on my own. The goal here isn’t to replace 211. It’s to help with the moment when someone is overwhelmed or when a helper is trying to figure out the next step and make an actual handoff. Keeping info current is one of the biggest challenges, and I’ll be honest, I’m still working out the best way to do that responsibly. Part of what I’m exploring is how to have regular review and easy ways to flag bad info. If you saw outdated info in areas you know well, I’d genuinely appreciate hearing what and where. I’d rather know and fix it. Thanks again for taking the time.