Perhaps you have been diagnosed with cancer and need support and information. Maybe you have lost your job and risk losing your home; you need financial advice and need to know your options. Or perhaps you have been the victim of domestic violence and don’t know where to turn; you need to know your rights and need to speak to people who have been there, who have experienced what you are going through.

StartHere can help you.

For more information on the product scroll down or follow the links below:

Benefits to the end user
Benefits to clients
Quality information
Local and national coverage
The update process

Benefits to the end user

• Easy-to-use, simple navigation system with a concise amount of information per page
• Information organised from the user’s perspective
• Access to information and support, 24 hours a day 
• Anonymous, no need to register or provide any personal details 
• FREE Access to more than 280 modules of content on a range of social welfare issues. Back to top.

 Benefits to clients

• Delivers a single-source, joined-up information service
• Helps engage socially disadvantaged and digitally excluded groups
• Increases access to services
• Relieves resources by channelling citizens to appropriate sources of information and support 
• Supports choice and empowerment 
• Free annual usage data
• Enhance organisation’s reputation for Corporate Social Responsibility by providing a vital service for anyone needing help and support. Back to top.

Quality information

StartHere has been trialled by users throughout its development. User feedback is regularly incorporated into the design and content included in StartHere to ensure the ongoing improvement of the system.

StartHere abides by a strict editorial policy, a summary of which is available here.

StartHere also has Plain English Campaign approval. Back to top.

Clarity approved by Plain English Campain

Local and national coverage

Sometimes people need services or support from national organisations — such as NHS Direct or CancerBackup, but often they want and need to contact local support services and organisations — the local council or local charities. Therefore, StartHere includes information on national and local sources of help.

We are currently building the local versions of StartHere and already have completed a number of StartHere regions across the UK. For more information on the StartHere regions already built please click here.

Once complete, StartHere will cover the whole of the UK with 71 local regions signposting to over 1,000 national and 35,000 local organisations, providing a consistent local service nationally. Back to top.

The update process

Information contained within StartHere is compiled by an in-house editorial team and is checked and approved regularly by expert organisations. The contact details of all the organisations on the system and the information written by the editors is updated every six months. Back to top.