Searchlight Services began as an idea in an undergraduate program in college. It seemed that the ideals of helping others which were prevalent in a college Social Work program -were often ebbed away by the realities of repetitive documentation, bureaucracy, lack of knowledge of other available resources, and the frustration of working in government programs which seemed to foster a culture of dependence for a select few in society, and not provide much outreach to those who were busy working to foot the bill.
In short -the system was broken, and no one seemed to know how to fix it.
Searchlight Services is NOT a government program. We are a private enterprise sharing information in a way that helps connect people with help. This was decided early on as the best course of action due largely in part because working for government seemed to eventually overwhelm even the most ambitious and caring people who chose to work for less than adequate salaries in an attempt to make the world a little bit better. If we did become a government program, then odds are we would have ended up as another bureaucracy with good intentions.
In short -the system could not be fixed from within.
After an undergraduate program which helped foster ideals of creating a better world through the empowerment of regular people -I went to graduate school to learn about organizing communities and working in social services administration. From those lessons, and from a little extra work learning about computer languages, other existing websites, and open-source software -we now have Searchlight Services. It is my hope that the years of planning, debates, failings, and successes will all come together to allow YOU to help Create Community -by finding the help you need and offering to help others in need.
Kindest Regards,
Andy Looney, MSW
