Local Students Create Website to Help Needy

A class assignment for three college students lead to an online resource for needy Temecula residents’ needs.

The site, which can be accessed at www.temecularesources.blogspot.com, lists resources needy Temecula residents can turn to for food, clothing, shelter, medical care and other services.

The website began when Melissa Deeter, Denniz Loza and Cynthia Triana, medical students National University’s nursing program, were assigned to research the medical needs of a city of their choice. They chose Triana’s hometown, Temecula.

The students found Temecula residents know very little about the resources available to them, Triana recalled. “We were asking them about resources, and they said they don’t know any,” she said.

They wanted to do something to help, so they built a website.

They chose to put the information on the Internet because it’s so widely used, Triana said. “They go on the Internet and look everything up,” she said. “People can go to the library if they don’t have access at home.”

The need for these resources is greater than ever, with the unemployment rate so high.

“People were saying before (the economy tanked) they didn’t need these resources,” she said.

The website turns no profit, and the students built it for free in hopes it will help people. “I hope people actually go and use it,” she said. “Even if it helps just one family feed their kids, it’s worth it to us.”