February 11 (2/11) is official "2-1-1 Day" in recognition of the free, confidential, easy to remember phone number that connects Vermont residents to essential community information and services such as healthcare, rent and mortgage assistance, food and shelter, job training, transportation, childcare, senior care, veteran services and much more. Vermont 2-1-1 helped 238,000 callers get help, give help and discover options since the Information and Referral program of the United Ways of Vermont was launched in 2005, especially as economic woes and natural disasters sent more families looking for help. That number continues to grow as more Vermonters have access to this invaluable referral service.
"2-1-1 will be there for Vermonters on Monday, February 11 like we are 365 days a year, 24 hours a day," said MaryEllen Mendl, Director of Vermont 2-1-1. "When a person calls 2-1-1, an Information and Referral (I&R) Specialist or Community I&R Volunteer will speak to you and help assess your situation to determine what services, information or resources are needed to help. And, because we are able to answer calls in 150 languages, 2-1-1 call specialists can really help get information out to the harder-to-reach populations in our community."
Residents, emergency service providers, government entities, non-profit agencies and businesses have all come to understand how 2-1-1 connects people with the services they need, and the annual number of calls to 2-1-1 is on the rise as the economic crisis continues to take its toll.
"Without 2-1-1, callers can make an average of eight phone calls to different numbers before finding the services they need," said Carmen Derby, President of United Ways of Vermont. "2-1-1 cuts through the red tape to save providers time and money, while helping Vermont residents connect with the resources they're looking for."
However, even as the value of 2-1-1 continues to be demonstrated, limited resources remain a barrier to sustainability and nationwide implementation. To date, 90% of the US population can access 2-1-1. "Every day, 2-1-1 call center specialists are helping people in every state untangle the web of social and government services available in their community," said Mendl.
Some highlights of the Vermont 2-1-1 program include:
‘¢ providing 24/7 access to health, human and community services;
‘¢ realizing an 853% increase in call volume between 2005 ‘ 2012;
‘¢ preparing sixteen staff members to earn National Certification in the field of Information and Referral with four earning a dual certification as Resource Specialists;
‘¢ receiving National Accreditation from the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems;
‘¢ answering over 238,000 calls;
‘¢ participating in more than a dozen Vermont Yankee Drills since 2007, including 2 successfully completed FEMA evaluated drills;
‘¢ creating new and innovative partnerships and expanding the grant from the Agency of Human Services (AHS) to include answering after hours emergency housing calls for AHS;
‘¢ responding to thousands of calls for disaster assistance as a direct result of
2-1-1’ s designation as the number to call for flood related inquiries and flood damages reporting;
‘¢ Actively engaged in communities throughout Vermont working to address issues including Human Trafficking, school safety, access to mental health and homelessness;
‘¢ Responded to nearly 100 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline calls annually from 2007 - 2012 and trained over 70 faith-based, law enforcement, military, social service providers and community members in Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training;
‘¢ Initiated the development and sustainability of VT Alliance for Information and Referral Systems, a membership organization supporting Information & Referral professionals.
Need help finding help? Dialing 2-1-1 is your first step. Dial 2-1-1 from anywhere in Vermont, or visit our website at www.vermont211.org. Professional Information and Referral Specialists are available 8:00am to 8:00pm, Monday through Thursday, 8:00am to 4:30pm, Friday.
Vermont 2-1-1 is a program of the United Ways of Vermont.
2-1-1 is an easy to remember telephone number that connects people with important community services and volunteer opportunities.
2-1-1 is confidential.
2-1-1 is a useful planning tool. A growing database of services and programs provides aggregate data about the types of calls that 211 receives in order to mobilize resources to meet changing needs of Vermont communities.