Pathfinders for Hope · Operation Iron Gate North Bay Pilot
Unite Us vs. findhelp vs. Operation Iron Gate: How the Three Closed-Loop Referral Approaches Compare
Unite Us and findhelp are national social-care networks sold mainly to health plans, health systems and governments. Operation Iron Gate is a referral-accountability system built by Pathfinders for Hope, a Vallejo nonprofit, for one question those networks also try to answer: did the referral land with someone who owns the next step? Unite Us and findhelp are large and running today. Operation Iron Gate is not live yet. Its North Bay Pilot has a projected launch of January 2027.
The short answer
- Choose Unite Us if your state, health plan or health system already runs a Unite Us network and you need care coordination, predictive analytics and billing for community services in one product.
- Choose findhelp if you need the largest searchable directory of programs and a free public search tool that anyone can use without an account.
- Watch Operation Iron Gate if your problem is not finding a program but proving that a handoff was received, owned and followed up. Also watch it if you want a tool shaped by the frontline workers who use it in a small pilot, not by a national buyer.
At a glance
| Question | Unite Us | findhelp | Operation Iron Gate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who runs it | A private technology company | A private technology company | Pathfinders for Hope, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit in Vallejo, CA |
| Status today | Live in many states | Live nationwide | Not live. North Bay Pilot projected for January 2027 |
| Main buyers | States, local governments, health plans, health systems | Health systems, health plans, governments, employers, schools | Agencies and frontline workers taking part in the pilot |
| Strongest feature | Coordinated network with analytics and reimbursement | Very large program directory and free public search | The receiving side confirms the handoff, so an unanswered referral stays open with an owner |
| Public search for people in need | Resource directory for network members | Yes, free at findhelp.org | A local Resource Finder for Vallejo and Solano County |
| Results you can check | Published by the company | Published by the company | None yet. Nothing is running, so no results are claimed |
Unite Us
Unite Us sells an end-to-end platform for coordinating care across health care, government and community organizations. Its own site lists a closed-loop referral system, predictive analytics, a resource directory, care coordination services, revenue cycle management and managed services. It reports a 96% closed-loop referral completion rate. That is the company’s own figure, and we have not checked it.
Where it is strong: large statewide networks, payment for community services, and one system shared by health care and social services.
What to ask before you buy: who pays for each community organization’s seat, what counts as a “closed” referral in its reports, and what your agency can still see if the network contract ends.
findhelp
findhelp, formerly Aunt Bertha, runs findhelp.org, a free public search for local programs. Organizations subscribe to screen people for social needs, send referrals and track whether services were received. The company reports more than 970,000 program locations, more than 825 customers in all 50 states, and more than 325,000 referrals a month. These are the company’s own figures.
Where it is strong: breadth of listings, a search page anyone can use, and wide adoption by health systems.
What to ask before you buy: how often local listings are checked, and whether a referral is confirmed by the receiving program or only marked as sent.
Operation Iron Gate
Operation Iron Gate is software built by Pathfinders for Hope to make referrals accountable. Its rule is “sent is not the same as served”. A referral is not counted as done when it leaves. It counts when the receiving organization records that it got the referral, who owns it, and the next step, or a reason it cannot proceed. Until then it stays open and visible, with nothing closing into the unknown.
Where it is different: it is run by a local nonprofit, not a national vendor; it is built around the receiving side’s confirmation; and the people who send and receive referrals in the pilot help shape it.
Honest limits: it is not live. It has no national directory, no billing for services and no published outcomes. The North Bay Pilot runs only in Vallejo and Solano County. Pricing after the pilot has not been published: [fill in: pricing, once decided].
Can they work together?
Yes. The tools solve different parts of the same problem. An agency can use findhelp to find a program, use a Unite Us network where its state or health plan requires one, and still need proof that the person did not fall between two organizations. That proof of a received, owned handoff is the gap Operation Iron Gate is built to close.
Follow the pilot
Built in Vallejo. Follow the pilot from anywhere in the U.S. Agencies in Vallejo and Solano County can see their role in the North Bay Pilot. Everyone else can look around GATEHOUSE, our community platform, where Pathfinders for Hope does your intake, barrier review and the calls to agencies. Joining from outside the North Bay? You are welcome here. Joining GATEHOUSE does not put you or your agency in the North Bay Pilot, which runs only in Vallejo and Solano County.
Questions people ask
Is Operation Iron Gate a replacement for Unite Us or findhelp?
Not today. It is not live, and it does not offer a national directory or service billing. It focuses on one thing those platforms also try to do: proving that a referral was received and owned by the other side.
Is findhelp free?
The public search at findhelp.org is free to use. Organizations that use its referral and tracking tools pay through subscriptions.
Where does the Operation Iron Gate pilot run?
Only in Vallejo and Solano County, California, with a projected launch in January 2027.
Prepared by Pathfinders for Hope. Updated October 4, 2026. Facts about Unite Us and findhelp come from their public websites on October 4, 2026, and are their own claims. Unite Us and findhelp are trademarks of their owners. This page is not affiliated with either company. Resource scope and sources.