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The HUD
Answer Machines are working out very well and are being received
enthusiastically by the public. It is truly achieving the
goals of bringing Government services to the people in their
neighborhoods in a friendly and non-intimidating environment.
- Summit Research Associates.
I recently
retired from DOE after 40 years in the Federal government.
This [HUD Answer Machine] is a great service. It is indicative
of the compassion and the great social contribution your employees
are making to make this a better country for all of us. Thank
you
-- cmonge@ix.netcom.com
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HUD Answer Machines Empower
Citizens Via the Internet
May 26, 1999
By Joanne L.
Johnson and Samuel R. Gallagher
The Department
of Housing and Urban Development is working hard to use technology
to empower the public. One part of this effort is the HUD Answer
Machine, a simple, easy-to-use way for visitors to HUD’s local offices
to access the vast array of information and services on HUD’s internet
home page.
Basically,
the HUD Answer Machine—a desktop computer—gives free access to the
internet and HUD’s home page to anyone who visits one of HUD’s 81
offices. It’s all part of Secretary Cuomo’s Management Reform efforts,
Visitors can
use the Answer Machine to:
- Learn how
to buy a home;
- See maps
showing HUD activity in every community;
- Find business
opportunities;
- File a housing
discrimination complaint;
- Get consumer
information;
- Print listings
of HUD homes for sale, in every state; and
- Access HUD
forms and official handbooks.
HUD staff are
available to help visitors use the Answer Machines, if they aren’t
familiar with computers. Since June 1998, more than 9,000 people
have used a HUD Answer Machine.
Any federal
agency can replicate the Answer Machine. The HUD Answer Machine
is a desktop computer with a large monitor, a browser connected
to the internet, and a piece of software that blocks inappropriate
sites. To make visitors more comfortable with this resource, HUD
designed a "frame" that surrounds the monitor, giving
it a more friendly appearance and clearly linking it to HUD’s homes
and communities page.
About the Authors
Joanne L. Johnson
and Samuel R. Gallagher are Deputy Web Managers at the Department
of Housing and Urban Development in Washington, D.C. You may reach
them at (202) 708-1547 or joanne_l._johnson@hud.gov
or sam_r._gallagher@hud.gov
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