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Guest Column

211 celebrates first anniversary

By Debbie Lattin
Published September 26, 2006

To find help or to give help, where do you go? Whom do you call?

A year ago, these questions were real and the anxiety of not knowing where to go for the answers was felt by many folks in our community on a daily basis.

Today, however, we have one central phone number to call if you want to find help or give help. That three digit, easy-to-remember number is 211.

The Advisory Council for 211, a health and human information resource number in Citrus County, is commemorating its first anniversary on Monday . A celebration will be from 10 a.m. to noon at the Citrus County Resource Center, 2804 W Marc Knighton Court, Lecanto. Call United Way of Citrus County at 527-8894 for more information or to RSVP.

Council members will host the community as well as our call center partners, 211 Tampa Bay Cares.

This will be a celebration of our successes as well as a workshop to update the organization's programs and sign up new associations to our network.

You may be asking yourself what the benefits are from dialing 211. There are many. Dialing 211 eliminates confusion. You will speak to an information and referral specialist: a trained professional who knows about all of the area's organizations and can listen carefully to a caller's needs.

These call specialists are also multilingual. Instead of dialing many numbers to find one resource, you dial one number for many resources.

Dialing 211 serves a population not covered by 911, the number to call during a life threatening emergency used to report a crime in progress or to summon an ambulance in a medical emergency. Dialing 211 provides information and referral specialists trained to listen to callers' unstated problems and get them the help they really need.

People who need information on sensitive issues such as drug rehabilitation options aren't likely to call any service associated with the police. Teenagers who want to leave gangs or parents who need counseling to manage their anger are unlikely to call the police for assistance.

Dialing 211 serves a vulnerable population, people who often slip through the cracks. Some callers just aren't able to research organizations and find telephone numbers even if a phone book is available. These folks may be illiterate, incapacitated by crisis or elderly. There is no doubt these callers need a simple, short, universal number that provides a single point of access and seamless delivery of service.

Do we have your attention yet? Come join us on Monday Please help us broaden our database by listing your nonprofit organization or government entity in our network and celebrate the win-win for our community by this positive step you're taking to help those who need to find help or give help.

[Last modified September 26, 2006, 06:26:24]