By Leah Dick
University of Kentucky
Finding the right support for substance use disorder treatment, mental health care, recovery housing or naloxone distribution can be an important step toward better health and recovery. FindHelpNow.org has launched a guided search feature to help Kentuckians easily and quickly access available support options based on their individual needs, preferences and circumstances.
Substance use disorder, mental health and recovery are complex issues unique to each person, so one person’s needs and circumstances can look completely different from those of another Kentuckian. FindHelpNow.org is a near-real-time online locator of facilities and providers actively taking new clients, with more than 800 providers across the state. Searching is free, easy and confidential.
To help users find the right options for their current circumstances, needs and preferences, FindHelpNow.org offers a wide variety of search criteria to filter results and make them as useful and applicable as possible. These search filters include payment and insurance options (such as Medicaid/Medicare, private insurance, self-pay, treatment scholarship and other options), age (such as child, teen and adult), transportation options (such as free parking, nearby public transportation or more), and preferred languages (such as English, Spanish and American Sign Language).
Because FindHelpNow.org users might not be aware of the personalization they can achieve by using the extensive search options, the guided search walks the user through all the options at their disposal in an approachable, easy and quick way.
After selecting a state, FindHelpNow.org users can access the new guided search tool on any page by clicking the “Start a guided search now” link in the white “Need help with search?” pop-up bubble on the right side of the screen. No identifying information is collected by FindHelpNow.org, so users can search on the overall website or with the new guided search confidently and confidentially. In case someone is experiencing a crisis or medical emergency, the guided search first offers to connect users with a crisis counselor through 988 or emergency services through 911. Guided search users can exit the tool at any time or click the Back option to select different options and search parameters.
As of September 2026, FindHelpNow.org has had over 552,500 users make more than 950,000 visits to the home page and conduct over 336,000 search events.
With the introduction of the guided search tool, Kentuckians are now able to more easily access the best possible recovery support options based on their needs, preferences and circumstances. As this is a recently released tool, the Find Help Now team welcomes feedback from users, which can be submitted via the “Contact” page.
Developed by the University of Kentucky College of Public Health’s Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, a bona fide agent of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, FindHelpNow.org is supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of cooperative agreement 1 NU17CE010186 totaling $5,769,396 with 0% financed with nongovernmental sources. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, CDC, HHS or the U.S. government. For more information, please visit CDC.gov.
Leah Dick is a research project manager with the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center, which is based at the UK College of Public Health.