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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Gov. Olene Walker launched a Web site Friday to help families and individuals in need of services such as food, clothing, health, childcare and housing.
Through www.utahcares.utah.gov, those seeking assistance can navigate a menu of options to find the resources they need in their area.
"Many times families and individuals in crisis find it difficult to get the help they need in a timely manner," Walker said. "Every Utah citizen deserves quality information and access regarding human service needs. I am pleased to announce that with this new Web site, assistance is a click away."
Walker demonstrated the site, which asks users to indicate the areas of assistance they need then asks them some more specific questions about the type of service they are looking for before giving them a list of state, local and nonprofit groups in their area that can help.
The site is also available in Spanish.
"I think it's going to be very useful ... and it's private. You don't have to go out and tell the world 'I need help,"' said Carol Sisco, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Human Services.
The Web site is a collaboration between the Utah Departments of Heath, Human Services and Workforce Services.
"For a long time people didn't think that people that were in need had access to computers, but when we got 44 percent of our enrollment (for the child heath insurance program CHIP) online we realized that wasn't the case," said Jana Kettering, spokeswoman for the Utah Department of Health.
"And there is still the 211 information line for those without access," Kettering said, referring to the free phone service that operates Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Walker called the Web site's launch the second part of her Walker Work Plan, the plan she announced last week as her general blueprint for finishing the remainder of Mike Leavitt's term.
(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
