GraceBridge
User Guide

Glossary

Updated 2026-09-22For: Volunteer, Staff / caseworker, Founder, Person seeking help

What this page is for

Flow diagram illustrating “What this page is for”: Every other guide page -> Glossary (this page) -> One plain definition per term.
Figure 1 — What this page is for.

Short, plain definitions for the words GraceBridge uses on its own screens — gathered in one place instead of repeated on every guide page. This page describes no single screen, so it carries no route badge of its own; it's a cross-reference for every other page in this guide.

Terms

Flow diagram illustrating “Terms”: Case number -> Access code (8 characters) -> Portal code (same code, case-header name) -> Check-in link (mailed, works 30 days) -> /portal — the seeker's own status page -> Case — one person's story, notes, matches, timeline -> Drift / drift tier — WATCH ≥1.75×, URGENT ≥2.5×, ALARM ≥3.5× -> Verified counter — moves only on confirmed help -> Honest zero — a zero is always shown, explained -> ID Walk — birth certificate → SS card → Texas ID -> Make-Ready Packet — one-click PDF of an ID Walk -> Reasoning engine — drafts summary & flags -> "reviewed by a human, always" -> SHEPHERD — the case's volunteer/staff owner -> Consultant — read-only, time-boxed role -> Roll-Up — Network / Group / Person, same chrome -> Key — the legend on every report -> Walk Line — demo playback (/demo/journeys), not part of reports.
Figure 2 — Terms.

Access code. The eight-character code (with a hyphen in the middle) a seeker gets alongside their case number. Both together open /portal — the case number alone opens nothing.

Case. One person's request for help and everything that's happened since: their story, notes, matches, and timeline. See The case page.

Check-in link. A mailed link that opens /portal for a specific case, already carrying its access code. Works for 30 days. See Check-in links.

Consultant. A read-only role, time-boxed to expire by a set date. See Roles & permissions.

Drift / drift tier. How far a person has moved from their own usual rhythm between visits, expressed as a multiple of their own baseline (WATCH ≥1.75×, URGENT ≥2.5×, ALARM ≥3.5×). Used by The Shoulder Tap and The Flock Pulse.

Honest zero. This suite's standing rule that a count of zero is always shown, with a full sentence explaining what it means — never hidden and never left to look like a missing or broken table.

ID Walk / ID-recovery walk. The three-document chain — birth certificate, Social Security card, Texas ID — GraceBridge tracks in order for a person with no identification. See The ID Walk.

Key. The legend on every report, explaining every mark that appears on that page. See Reports overview.

Make-ready packet. The one-click assembled PDF of an ID Walk's office info, filled forms, and checklist. See The Make-Ready Packet.

Portal code. Another name for the access code, as it appears on a case's header in the dashboard.

Reasoning engine. The part of GraceBridge that reads a person's story and drafts a summary, flags, and gentle follow-up questions. Always stamped "reviewed by a human, always" — it never decides anything on its own.

Roll-Up. The house's three-altitude network report — Network, Group, Person, same chrome at every level. See The Roll-Up.

SHEPHERD (Shepherd). The volunteer or staff member responsible for a case or a group of cases. Shown as a column on several reports and as a filter on Casework.

Verified / verified counter. GraceBridge's single running count of families helped — it moves only when a volunteer confirms, in the software, that help actually arrived, never on a promise.

Walk Line. A home-page demonstration feature (/demo/journeys) that plays back a month of a fictional journey in fifteen seconds. Marketing and demonstration only — not part of the reports suite.