STEUBENVILLE — A resource network seeking to unite Jefferson County’s service providers on one website is looking for further submissions before its official launch, a project official said Tuesday.

“(The resource network) is everybody working together, and that’s when things happen,” said Beth Rupert-Warren, service coordinator for the network. “That’s how we make positive change.”

Rupert-Warren is spearheading the website project, a collaboration between the Jefferson County Educational Service Center and the county commissioners. The website has been in development since November 2022, when the ESC approached the commissioners with the proposal — aimed at filling gaps of service in the county — which the commissioners approved and granted American Rescue Plan startup funds to set the plan in motion.

The website is in its testing phase, Rupert-Warren said, gathering resource list submissions from local organizations and ironing out issues.

A community meeting will take place at 10 a.m. Friday in the lecture hall at Eastern Gateway Community College. Rupert-Warren said this relaxed environment is free and open to any agency, or any person, that wants to learn more about the website and “foster positive working relationships.”

Representatives from Steubenville-based Pierce Media Productions, which designed the resource network’s website, will be presenting on the website during the meeting, including how to submit an agency’s information to be listed among the site’s more than 60 working categories. Rupert-Warren said the meetings will, hopefully, garner more resource submissions.

Community meetings will be held quarterly, Rupert-Warren said, with the next occurring on March 15, when representatives from the Brooke-Hancock-Jefferson Metropolitan Planning Commission speak about transportation needs in the county.

However, meetings are not simply about the website, Rupert-Warren said. They are opportunities for agencies to come together under one roof to collaborate and share ideas for the county’s benefit — the website’s tagline is “Unity in the Community.”

“It’s more than just a website and app,” Rupert-Warren said. “It’s really trying to bring the community together and help people when they need it.”

The website itself, jcresourcenetwork.org, is up and running, as is the mobile app version. However, the network still needs different resource agencies’ information. There are still plenty of areas — gaps of service — that Rupert-Warren would like to see more submissions for, including pediatric home health and animal training and boarding.

The website is meant primarily to help the average individual easily find the resources they need, Rupert-Warren said, whereas resources before were spread out among their different websites or difficult to locate physically. Individuals will no longer need to ask blindly for directions to a certain resource. This will be particularly advantageous for individuals who live outside of the county but have family in this area.

The network will provide an early intervention solution for individuals in crisis situations who are in need of help, Rupert-Warren said, and aid education professionals in their work — ESC’s mission. The website will also be advantageous for the agencies themselves, receiving promotion through the network’s free submission.

Approximately 90 days after Friday’s community meeting will be the website’s official launch and promotion, Rupert-Warren said. Once enough information has been loaded onto the site, a notification will be mailed to every resident of Jefferson County to explain about the resource network.

The website has not been without its quirks that needed troubleshooting, Rupert-Warren said, causing the production team to progress with care. No prior model exists for the resource network, so the development process has been like “building a plane as we fly it,” Rupert-Warren said.

News of the network’s development has generated interest, with other states contacting the ESC to inquire about building their own networks. Rupert-Warren said the ESC is developing a template as it progresses to help others create their own networks in the future.

Locally, feedback on the network has been “so positive,” Rupert-Warren said. Notable supporters include Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdalla Jr. and the Rev. Ashley Steele of Urban Mission Ministries, both of whom are featured in a promotional video for the website, as well as Ann Quillen of the Ohio Valley Health Center, EGCC and the Public Library of Steubenville and Jefferson County.

Once operating fully, the website is going to be “constantly updating and changing,” Rupert-Warren said. Interns from EGCC and Franciscan University of Steubenville are planned to help keep the lists current. Jefferson County Vocational School multimedia students will help generate positive feedback stories to be displayed on the website.

Initially funded by the commissioners, the network is seeking grants and other funding sources to help connect county residents with the “so many good things going on in the community (that) people just don’t know about,” said Rupert-Warren, who has been working in the county for more than 40 years.

With the network’s launch between three and four months away, Rupert-Warren reflected, “It’s really a good feeling on so many levels. It’s been so refreshing to see how the community comes together. … Great things happen when people come together, and that’s what this has been.”