Find help. Track your progress. Breathe a little easier.
Hi 👋 I’m building this Rails app because I got overwhelmed trying to juggle benefits, resources, phone numbers, waitlists, and deadlines. Some forms I missed, some numbers were dead ends, and some “resources” turned out not to even exist anymore (fun times).
So I thought: what if families had one place to track what they’ve applied for, what’s actually open, and what’s still on the to-do list?
That’s what MyCountyAid is meant to be: a simple, private space for overwhelmed parents (like me) to breathe a little easier.
I'm keeping the repo public for now, but once I start adding more sensitive resources, especially for domestic violence, I’ll probably make it private again.
Make it way easier for low-income families to access real help in Gwinnett County.
No more 27 open tabs, 4 missed voicemails, and a sticky note that says “fax?” with no context 🤦♀️
Stage 1: Georgia Gateway Benefits
- TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
- CAPS (Childcare and Parent Services)
- EBT (food stamps)
- Medicaid
Stage 2: Head Start Resources
- Based on the official Gwinnett County Community Resource Handbook
Stage 3: Broader Community Resources
- Churches, food pantries, shelters
- Volunteer orgs and local nonprofits
- Facebook groups and community forums
If it helps families, I want it here.
Because I know people wonder, here’s how I use AI:
- Sanity Checks: I use Cursor as a rubber ducky to debug or explain things when I'm stuck or don't understand the WHY behind things. I take what it says with a grain of salt and end up asking real people in the end lol
- Reviews: Cursor Bugbot runs through PRs and is usually wrong, but occasionally helpful
- Writing: ChatGPT 4o helps me trim down my long-winded thoughts (ironically)
- Styling: I do sometimes use AI to get styles out fast... but then it gets div-happy and I end up annoyed and cleaning up its mess anyway 🤦♀️ but the goal of this project specifically is speed and not spending all my time making pixel perfect designs 🫠 if you want that, check out my portfolio for AI-free design (with vanilla CSS)
So yes, AI is in the mix, but I’m doing the actual building. Sorry, but I don't have the emotional regulation to power through vibe coding 😅
Right now I’m researching APIs for benefits data (if they exist). If not, I’ll probably build one myself.
This project is still early, but the goal is a working MVP, not perfection.
If it helps even one mom not miss a deadline, I’ll call that a win.
Thanks for reading. If you want to help out in the initial stages, feel free to reach out!! 💜