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Members of the public will soon have access to a single website that will direct them to non-profit resources throughout the county.

On Tuesday, LaGrange City Councilman Quay Boddie announced the creation of the Troup County Resources website.

The web portal will provide access to a bevy of links to resources within Troup County, including family resources, jobs, education and information for those who are new to LaGrange, Hogansville and West Point.

Boddie said the project started out as a conversation with former City Manager Meg Kelsey about potentially putting up a bulletin board in parks to direct people to community resources. From that conversation came the idea for potential digital interactive signage that could connect people with resources, provide wayfinding and advertise city amenities and events.

Eventually, the project landed on the creation of a portal website that can connect residents, old and new, with non-profit agencies throughout the county that provide resources at little or no cost. Some of the resources also provide information like where to vote and how to get registered.

“This project literally went from the idea of having bulletin boards to now a full-blown website that citizens can use — free of charge — to help them find resources that are needed,” Boddie said.

Boddie said the website will be accompanied by computers throughout the community that will provide web access for those who do not have it in their pocket or at home.

“The real game changer was getting a call from Kids Zone Dentistry, who was searching for someone to donate 17 desktop computers to. Thinking ahead, the City of LaGrange accepted the computers with the aim to have them in designated places for citizens to come see and easily access all available resources,” Boddie said.

City Hall will host a ribbon cutting next Wednesday, Jan. 31 at 10 a.m. for the first of the computer kiosks to be placed. The computer will be available inside the LaGrange Utilities Customer Service Center for the public to access the Troup County Resources web portal.

“I think is going to be a game changer,” Boddie said. “This is something that we just took by the horns and ran with it. It’s going to be countywide, so West Point, Hogansville and also LaGrange. It’s all-inclusive and not just about us. It’s about everybody. We’re just trying to make it easy for people to find needed resources.”

Boddie said the website will only be for government and non-profit resources, which will be vetted by staff.

It’s not for advertising for-profit businesses even if they do provide similar resources at a cost, Boddie said.