John Rugge Center for Community Impact at Hudson Headwaters Launches Community Resource Directory
New online database will help social service organizations better serve individuals and communities
John Rugge Center for Community Impact (CCI) announces the launch of the Community Resource Directory, a web-based tool designed to strengthen connections across the region’s social safety net and improve access to essential services. The online directory compiles a continually updated list of community-based services across the Network’s 7,900-square-mile service region, including the Adirondack, Glens Falls, Plattsburgh and Malone regions.
The Community Resource Directory was originally developed and utilized by the Network’s population health team who work alongside primary care, specialty care and behavioral health care teams to assist individuals living with chronic conditions and/or needing assistance with health-related social needs. Adapting the Community Resource Directory as a shared regional tool is a result of feedback from the Adirondack Regional Social Safety Network Initiative, led by the Adirondack Community Foundation.
Social service organizations identified a shared need for an up to date and easily navigable source of community resources that spans the entire Adirondack region and surrounding areas. In response, CCI led the public launch of the Community Resource Directory, transforming the Network’s in-house resource into a practical tool now available across the region. Listings include organizations and resources for housing assistance, food support, behavioral health services, transportation assistance, senior services, legal aid and more.
“The vision behind the Center for Community Impact has always been to leverage Hudson Headwaters’ resources and infrastructure and help address upstream factors that impact downstream health outcomes,” explains Jessica Rubin, VP, chief impact officer and leader of CCI. “This is a tool the Network already created and actively maintains. Making it readily available to our many partners helping to address social drivers of health for our patients and communities is a win-win.”
“The need for something like the Community Resource Directory has been a major theme since the Social Safety Net project was launched in 2022,” says Cali Brooks, president and CEO of the Adirondack Community Foundation. “The Directory complements other efforts that support the nonprofit sector and covers the largest geographical region yet. This is a tremendous asset that will allow social safety net organizations to better serve our communities.”
The Community Resource Directory is intended for staff members of social service, health care and community-based organizations throughout the region. Individual staff members may request access by completing a form at HHHN.org/CommunityResourceDirectory.