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February 11 is National 2-1-1 Day

February 11, 2010

A man who had never been unemployed suddenly lost his job and did not know where to begin to find help for him and his family.

A woman became concerned about her brother who is mentally ill and might have been off his medications.

A young woman is stressed as she tries to balance work, raising her family and caring for her aging parent and needs to help in knowing her parents are safe during the day while she is at work.

The good news is that these northwest Iowan residents were helped by dialing 2-1-1.  At the other end of their call, an information and referral specialist, speaks with the caller to determine their needs and situation and then connects them to the appropriate government or not-for-profit service that provides them help. 

Every day, all over the country, 2-1-1 staff members answer calls such as theirs and help untangle the web of social and government services for their callers.  2-1-1 is a national dialing code that is now available to more than 241 million Americans, or about 80 percent of our country’s population. 

Here in Siouxland, 2-1-1 is provided by Center For Siouxland.  Center For Siouxland’s 2-1-1 Center covers ten counties: Woodbury, Monona, Ida, Cherokee, Plymouth, Sioux, O’Brien, Osceola, Lyon and Dakota County in Nebraska. 

In 2009, Center For Siouxland’s 2-1-1 Center answered 2,511 calls and handled over 2,980 needs, while making 3,195 referrals.  The majority of calls were for basic needs- utility assistance, food, health care and rent assistance.  2-1-1 connects people with the services they need and helps take the burden of calls off the shoulders of many agencies by guiding callers to the right community resource. 

As the value of 2-1-1 continues to be demonstrated, limited resources remain the key barrier to sustainability and nationwide implementation.  That’s why 2-1-1 supporters continue to push for passage of the Calling for 2-1-1 Act. The Calling for 2-1-1 Act will ensure consistent 2-1-1 service is available nationwide and vital technology upgrades are made in a manner that promotes a long-term sustainable service, especially in times of disaster.  To learn more about the Calling for 2-1-1 Act, go to http://www.211us.org.  To learn more about Center For Siouxland’s 2-1-1 program, and gain access to a searchable database, log onto http://www.centerforsiouxland.org or call 2-1-1.  Center For Siouxland is a local non-profit that has provided an array of services for the past 35 years and is located at 715 Douglas St.

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