Find help and people near you

Groups, classes, volunteer teams and support lines are local, and they are listed in a hundred different places. A good AI search tool can pull them together for your area in a minute or two. This page shows you how, and gives you exact words to type. In the U.S., you can also call or text 211, a free service that knows local programs.

Step 1: Open an AI search tool in a new tab or window

Keep this guide open so you can copy prompts and come back. Open the AI tool next to it:

• On a computer: press Ctrl + T (Windows) or ⌘ Command + T (Mac) for a new tab, or Ctrl + N / ⌘ Command + N for a new window. You can also hold Ctrl or ⌘ Command while you click any link.
• Side by side on a computer: on Windows, click the AI window and press the Windows key + right arrow, then pick this guide for the other half. On a Mac, hold the pointer over the green button at the top-left of the window and choose Tile Window to Right of Screen.
• On a phone or tablet: press and hold a link below and choose Open in New Tab. Switch between tabs with the tabs button (two squares) in your browser.

The links below all open in a new tab. Each has a free version; some ask you to sign in. This guide has no connection to any of them and earns nothing from them.

• Microsoft Copilot (opens in a new tab)
• Google Gemini (opens in a new tab)
• ChatGPT (opens in a new tab)
• Perplexity (opens in a new tab)
• Claude (opens in a new tab)

Choose one that shows its sources (links you can click). You can also type a prompt into a regular search engine such as Google or Bing; many now show an AI answer at the top.

Step 2: Copy a prompt and paste it in

Choose your state, and type a city, town or county if you like. The prompts fill themselves in. Press Copy, switch to the AI tab, click in its message box, and paste (Ctrl + V, ⌘ Command + V, or press and hold, then Paste on a phone).

Step 3: Check what it tells you

AI tools are fast, but they make mistakes. They can give an old phone number, a program that has ended, or a detail that is simply made up.

• Click the source for anything you plan to act on. Trust the agency's own website (addresses ending in .gov are government sites) over directories or ads.
• Call to confirm eligibility, costs and waiting lists before you count on a program.
• Watch for businesses dressed up as groups. Some "free" events are sales pitches. Ask the AI to mark anything run by a company.
• If the answer is thin, ask again with a smaller area ("in Lake County" rather than the whole state), or ask for "the official state website for…".
• When in doubt, ask a librarian. Public libraries keep lists of local groups and are glad to help. In the U.S., 211 can help too, and older adults can call the Eldercare Locator (see organizations and websites).

Keep private details private

The state and town you choose here stay on this device. Copying a prompt sends nothing anywhere. But whatever you paste into an AI tool goes to the company that runs it.

• Describe your situation in general terms ("I'm in my 40s and new in town"). You don't need to give your name.
• Never type full names, birth dates, account numbers or passwords into an AI tool.
• Note what you find in My small steps or My people, which keep it on your device.

A word about safety

When you meet people from a group for the first time, meet in a public place, tell someone where you're going, and trust your instincts. See bars, clubs and meetup places for more.