The federal government's Web site for disability-related resources, http://www.disabilityinfo.gov/, has launched a state and local resources map, letting you find resources close to home.

It's not obvious, but it is easy to use. From the front page, just pick a category in which you're interested -- education, employment, housing, etc -- and click on it. On the right side of the resource pages, you'll see a map for doing location-based search. Pick a state and you'll get resources for that state in that category. (It looks like Disability.gov remembers the state in which you're interested after you choose it one time.)

When I chose Transportation and then chose North Carolina, I got eight resources. The only problem I saw is that sometimes the resource indicated full-state coverage, and I didn't see it. I mean, is "Asheville Paratransit Transportation" really going to provide coverage in Charlotte?

Note that if you want to search for more specific information, you can check out the advanced search , which also lets you search by state.