Massachusetts Offers Virtual Gateway of Services

The state of Massachusetts has launched a "Virtual Gateway" for information on health and human services programs. It's accessible at https://vgportal1.hhs.state.ma.us/portal/dt .

Don't mind the bit about registration -- if your interest is consumer-level you can jump right in. If you're a services provider you'd need a login, but otherwise not. Of course, consumers can only access two levels of information -- Catalog and Screening and Referral.

Catalog is an outline of services available, starting with Basic Needs (Food & Nutrition, Housing & Shelter, etc.) and moving into Family Services, Physical Health, and so on. Each heading has several links underneath it. Some annotation would be nice but you can't have everything. Each link has a varying amount of information underneath it; "Food Banks" goes to a section with information and several phone numbers to relevant agencies, while "Service Organizations and Advocates" (for elder affairs) leads to page with nine links, most extensively annotated.

The Screening & Referral section, on the other hand, leads the visitor though an online survey to determine the most useful programs. After you run through the survey (and it is very quick) you'll get a table of programs for which the visitor may qualify, comments (usually these are requirements), and information on how to apply for the program.

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