In Time of Need

This is the source of The Path to a better future.

In Time of Need is a 501(c)(3) Oregon public benefit corporation. Our mission is to provide supportive information and direction to as many people in need as we possibly can.

Eventually this website will be the public access portal to the smart application we are creating, called The Path. It will be a free resource for everyone either needing services or serving those in need.

This is already an immense undertaking currently being built by volunteers. Our plan is to employ a staff to populate and update an extensive database of service providers, which will feed our GPS-based smart application linked to Google's vast database of geographic and institutional information.

The original HTML version of The Path, a proof-of-concept that is temporarily located on my personal website, has two principal resources...

• The Directory—a long list of organizations, mostly in the greater Portland area.


• The Library—a place to explore ways to manage challenges and opportunities.

A 2021 vision of the evolution of The Path into an intelligent application, employing GPS technolgy and Google's immense data warehouse, continues to guide the current effort.  As of March 2024, the state of the effort is...

1. Technical:   The Path's query engine, or content management system (CMS), exists and works beautifully.  Next step: design a friendly, easily navigable user interface for it (UX/UM).  We intend to have people with real needs testing the prototypes for effectiveness and ease of use.
2. Staffing:   We'll require people—volunteers for now but eventually employees and contractors—to refine the app's code and to populate and maintain the service provider database.
3. Legal:   Our newly formed company, In Time of Need, is an Oregon public benefit corporation [2209845-95] with a federal EIN [99-0535831] and is recognized by the IRS as a tax-exempt entity.
   For the record, here are our Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws and the 501(c)(3) qualification letter from the IRS.
4. Financial:   I'm covering all fees and other expenses out-of-pocket for now.  I'm working up a presentation that will tell our story to stakeholders and potential funders.

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If you're interested in a little bit about who I am and how this came about...

A decade ago I created a website (dickwillis.com) to give my grandchildren and great grandchildren a sense of who I was and what I experienced when I was their age (My Stuff).  The site features a Resources menu that includes a bit of my personal philosophy and interests as well as sources of helpful information for my family.  I invite you to use any of it that can be of service.

For decades I've volunteered to improve the prospects of what I experienced as distressed populations: at-risk teens, abused and neglected children, the impoverished, the elderly and infirm and, most recently, I've been mentoring prison inmates one-on-one in preparation for their release from prisons here in Oregon.

Typically, the work involves helping inmates plan for and secure a place to live, a job, affordable transportation, healthcare, etc.  (COVID-19 added complications to the usual challenges of their being forced to land in strange and unforgiving territory.)

At this writing I'm in my late 70s and clear-eyed about my mortality.  Recently Josh—a prisoner who's aware of the work I've done for his fellow inmates both before and after their release—said to me, "I have eight years left to my sentence.  You may not be around when I'm ready to be released.  I'm asking that everything you've done for those other men you make available to me."

This website, and eventually the smart GPS-based application, are my response to Josh's request.  I'm clearing a path for him to follow when his release arrives whether I'm here or not.  But The Path is not for Josh alone nor for inmates alone; it's for a whole universe of people needing to survive in this society who might have limited resources. People like:

• The dispossessed (due to fire, flood, earthquake, violence, or simply bad luck)
• Unemployed heads of household
• Emancipated youth
• Indigenous persons and migrants
• Discharged veterans
• Immigrants and refugees
• Job hunters of all kinds
• ... in fact, anyone who might need a helping hand.

If that list hits close to home, it's my hope that you find something here that works for you or those you love.  I'm wishing for everyone who's on their life's path a safe, happy and satisfying journey!


Dick Willis

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Thank you.