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Getting around

How to find your way around LaneHelp: the home search box, the bottom bar and Menu on a phone, and the side rail on a bigger screen.

Open the home page

3 min readChecked against LaneHelp October 6, 2026Report a problem with this page

What it does
A tour of the home page and the menus, so you know where each page lives.
Good for
You saw a page once and can’t find it again, or you’re showing someone else around.
You’ll need
Nothing. No account.
On this page

Every LaneHelp page is a tap or two from anywhere. The trick is knowing which tap.

Start with the search box#

The home page opens with one search box. Type what you need the way you’d say it out loud: “food pantry in Florence,” “my landlord changed the locks,” even “I ned hlp wit rent.” Press Enter and LaneHelp takes your words to Resources and shows matching listings. Press Enter on an empty box to open the whole directory.

Under the box, More ways to search offers other doors in for when you don’t know what to type. See More ways to search.

On a phone: the bottom bar and Menu#

Five buttons stay along the bottom: Home, Resources, Paddle, Map, and Menu. Paddle opens LaneHelp’s helper duck. Menu slides open everything else, sorted into groups:

  • Find help — Resources, Shelter, Housing, Shared Housing, Route, Map, and Jobs.
  • Information — The Current (News), Fire & Police calls, Insights, Events, Alerts, Stats, and AIC.
  • Community — Community, Leaderboard, and Meetings.
  • Tools & guides — Quick Help, Quick Sheets, Handouts, Cameras, Guides, and Pulse.

The top of the menu shows your account, or Sign in if you’re a guest. The bottom has Docs, About, Contact, and the policy links. Swipe right to close it. The gear icon at the top of the screen opens settings like Dark mode.

On a computer: the side rail#

On a wider screen, a rail runs down the left side with the same groups: Find help, Information, Community, and Tools. Hover over a name to see what the page is for. More, under Tools, holds Handouts, Guides, Pulse, and Leaderboard.

Near the bottom you’ll find About, Get the app, Contact, and Support, an Ask Paddle button, and Sign in. Once you’re signed in, that spot shows Profile, Messages, and Notifications. Need the room? The small arrow on the rail’s edge, Hide navigation, tucks it away. Show navigation brings it back.

Ask the duck without leaving the page#

On a computer, a small Ask Paddle duck waits in the corner of most pages. Click it to ask a question without leaving the page. Paddle can also walk you through some pages one control at a time, with Next and Done buttons.

Questions people ask

Why does my phone show different buttons than my computer?
Phones get five buttons within thumb reach, and everything else lives in Menu. A bigger screen has room for the groups. Same LaneHelp either way.
How do I get back to the home page?
Tap Home in the bottom bar on a phone, or Home at the top of the rail on a computer.
Where’s the Docs guide?
On a phone, open Menu and tap Docs at the bottom. On a computer, Docs is in the rail under Find help.