HACC students help design mobile site to help people suffering from addiction
(Harrisburg) — Students at a midstate college have designed a new mobile website to help people addicted to drugs or alcohol get help.
Christopher Mumma and two other HACC students worked on the project, which has been launched by the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
“One in four families struggle with a loved one’s addiction and far too often, they feel helpless and they don’t’ know where to turn,” saysDepatment Acting Secretary Gary Tennis. “Having a mobile site will provide them with user-friendly access and connect them to the help they need.”
Mumma says the “Get Help Now” site offers easily accessible information, so people who may be keeping their addiction a secret don’t even have to make a phone call to learn about what resources are available.
“They can go get that information, give it to the people they love and say ‘Hey, please go get some help,'” he says. “Or even the people who were too embarrassed to say, ‘Make a phone call,’ all they have to do is go to the website and it has that information right there.”
Mumma, a computer technician, says the design behind the mobile interface connects to the agency’s databases of treatment resources based on location.
“Simply, click it (and) get the help they need without having to go through so much red tape or so much worries,” he says. “Because when you can struggle for that, you can very easily quit.”
The site even has links for people looking to get insurance to help overcome their addiction.
