The Path
... from surviving to thriving.
This is the largest project I've ever taken on.
The Path is evolving, from its origin as a pair of webpages, toward its future as a powerful application designed to work on smart devices: phones, laptops, desktops, etc., supported by a vast and ever-growing base of timely, helpful information. Here are a couple of briefs that help explain the objective:
- a sketch of the concept
- an overview and timeline of the project
The Path is a utility meant to be a source of beneficial information for any soul in pain. That pain may be physiological, psychological, emotional, spiritual, legal or monetary; urgent or chronic; personal, familial or communal.
Building on The Path's humble beginning, we intend to create an extensive, intelligent, online tool whereby anyone using it can ably and quickly acquire the insight they need to make an informed decision in relief of their own difficult situation or that of another.
The Path began as a pair of web resources...
- The Services Directory contains lists of service providers with information about the nature of their services, where they are located, and how to contact them. As a set of webpages, it proved to be difficult to navigate as the list grew larger and larger. Presently there are over 600 entries just of providers in the greater Portland area. The list was originally created during the COVID pandemic and many entries may no longer be active. You can get a feel for the current state of the data if you select one of the categories, such as "free groceries". Accuracy, currency and breadth of information are all reasons we need to frequently update the database, especially as we grow the geographic area of coverage.
- The Well-being Library is a place to find insight, knowledge and direction, much in the nature of a physical library. This feature will continue to be both a series of cataloged web pages and an additional resource in The Path's database.
A 2021 vision of the evolution of The Path into an intelligent application continues to guide the current effort.
As of September 2024, the state of the effort is...
- Technical: We intend to have a fully working prototype by October of this year, asking people with real needs
to test it for effectiveness and ease of use.
The Path's query engine, including its content management system (CMS), works beautifully. (This schema portrays our user interface/experience approach and also how we will use data analytics.)
Next step: design a friendly, satisfying user experience (UX) and easily navigable user interface (UI) for the front end of the application (possibly incorporating artificial intelligence).
- Content: Currently our Services Directory consists mostly of providers in the greater Portland area.
Our near-term plan is to populate our CMS with information on service providers throughout the state of Oregon, and to have much of the lower levels of
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs covered by Spring of next year.
- Staffing: We'll need people—volunteers for now but eventually employees and contractors—to refine the app's code and to populate and maintain the service provider database and the Well-being Library.
- Legal: In Time of Need is an Oregon public benefit corporation [2209845-95] with a federal EIN [99-0535831]. For the record, here are our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws, and once again the 501(c)(3) qualification letter from the IRS.
- Financial: We're covering all fees and other expenses out-of-pocket for now. We're working up a presentation that will tell our story to stakeholders and potential funders. Since we are a 501(c)(3), all donations will be tax-deductible.
If you're interested in how this all came about...
For decades I've volunteered to improve the prospects of what I experienced as distressed populations: at-risk teens, abused and neglected children, the elderly and infirm.
A few years ago I began mentoring prison inmates one-on-one in preparation for their release from a medium security prison here in Oregon.
Typically, the work involves helping inmates plan for and secure a place to live, a job, affordable transportation, healthcare, etc.
At one point, Josh—a prisoner who was familiar with the work I'd done for his fellow inmates both before and after their release from prison—said to me, "I have eight years left
to my sentence. You may not be around when I'm ready to be released. I'm asking that everything you've done for those other men you make available to me."
As of this writing I'm in my late 70s and clear-eyed about my mortality. This website and any future efforts by our team will be a response to Josh's request.
We're clearing a path for him to follow when his release day arrives, whether I'm here or not.
But The Path is not for Josh alone nor for inmates alone; it's for a whole universe of people needing to survive in this society who might have limited resources. People like:
- The newly homeless (due to fire, flood, earthquake, violence, unemployment, illness or simply bad luck)
- Emancipated youth, and teens aging out of foster care
- Indigenous peoples, immigrants and refugees
- Discharged veterans and others suffering from PTSD or other forms of mental illness
- Job hunters of all kinds
- ... in fact, anyone who might need a helping hand.
It's my hope that they find just the right resource on The Path to light their way. I'm wishing for everyone who's on their life's path a safe, happy and satisfying journey!
