This texting service will help Tarrant County residents find resources
Tarrant County launched a text service on Wednesday to help residents find critical resources at the touch of a button.
The texting service, TXT4 Tarrant Cares, allows people to text the word “FIND” to 67629 to see a list of nearby organizations and ZIP code-specific resources. The service is provided in both English and Spanish and is available 24/7.
The service will allow people to search for resources such as food, clothing and housing services, early childhood care, family support, mental health and counseling services, substance abuse programs, child abuse and neglect services, COVID-19 testing and vaccine information.
“We have a lot of amazing local organizations and nonprofit agencies standing by to support individuals and families in our community, but sometimes it can be tough to figure out where to turn when you are in the midst of a crisis,” said Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley in a statement. “TXT4 Tarrant Cares puts those answers in the palms of their hands, literally.”
The text service is linked with the county’s Tarrant Cares program, which provides residents with resources online. The new service is supposed to make reaching resources more convenient and faster.
The need for this new service came from feedback by a task force chaired by Cook Children’s that studied the impact of adverse childhood experiences. These experiences include exposure to abuse or neglect, family violence, mental illness, or any experiences that can disrupt a child’s development and lead to chronic health conditions.
The study found that getting help to local families most at risk meant creating a more efficient and effective way for those families to access critical resources.
“Texting is probably one of the best ways to communicate resources and information because people feel more comfortable texting than they do picking up the phone,” said Roderick F. Miles, a member of the ACEs Task Force and executive administrator for Commissioner Roy Charles Brooks, in a statement.
