More than 200,000 calls resulting in 222,730 referral requests have been handled by United Way 2-1-1 Missouri/Southwest Illinois help line since November 13, 2007. Calls to 2-1-1 are expected to exceed 120,000 in 2009.

This fast, free, confidential give or find help line for health and human services is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week throughout Missouri and Southwest Illinois for those calling from a land line or AT&T and Verizon cell phones. Other cell phone users should call 800-427-4626 for the same service. Information and resources, including a searchable database of services available can be found at: www.211missouri.com or www.211southwestillinois.com. Missouri 2-1-1 covers 99 counties throughout the state. The remaining 17 Missouri counties are covered by United Way of Greater Kansas City’s 2-1-1. Southwest Illinois 2-1-1 covers nine counties in Illinois.

“2-1-1 has been a great success,” said Gary Dollar, president and CEO of United Way of Greater St. Louis. “Without the 2-1-1 service, a person makes 14 calls on average before finding the services he or she needs. We’re also hearing from people who have never needed to ask for help before. With 2-1-1, there’s someone to help people find their way through what can be a maze of services available and help them figure out where to start.”

“The biggest increase in calls has been for basic needs,” said Jeanene Harris, regional and administration officer of United Way. “Calls for food, utilities and shelter have increased about 16 percent since last year and calls for mortgage assistance have increased nearly 60 percent.”

Number and type of calls

Most of the calls made to 2-1-1, are from people looking for help with basic needs such as utility, rent and food assistance. Nearly 71,000 calls have come in between January and October 2009 for basic needs; that’s 10,000 more calls compared to the same period last year. Mortgage assistance calls also increased during this timeframe from 3,208 in 2008 to 5,130 this year.

The 2-1-1 call specialists can help people find health and human service assistance on everything from food and shelter to job counseling services, or health resources. It is also available for everyday and non-emergency needs, and offers easy access to community-based organizations and government agencies that provide services such as:

• Basic human needs resource: food pantries, clothing, shelters
• Mental and physical health resources: medical information lines, crisis intervention services, support groups, counseling, drug and alcohol intervention, rehabilitation, Medicaid and Medicare, maternal health, children’s health insurance programs.
• Employment support: financial assistance, job training, transportation assistance, education programs, Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) filing assistance.
• Support for older adults, people with disabilities: home health care, adult day care, congregate meals, Meals on Wheels, respite care, transportation, homemaker services.
• Support for children, youth and families: quality childcare, Success by 6, after school programs, Head Start, family resource centers, summer camps and recreation programs, mentoring, tutoring, protective services.
• Volunteer/donor opportunities

Disaster response

• Received 1,645 calls for disaster related assistance such as floods, tornadoes and ice storms.
• During the 2009 summer, 2-1-1 received 675 heat-related requests.

Special programs

• More than 2,800 requests for Earned Income Tax Credit free tax preparation locations throughout the state were received.

A total of $8.5 million was pledged for Missouri 2-1-1’s first five years of operation. MFH committed a total of $4.75 million to the project — $1 million for start-up costs and $3.75 million over five years to support annual operation costs. United Way of Greater St. Louis is providing an additional $3.75 million over the five years to support the remaining annual operation costs. United Way of Greater St. Louis is handling all Missouri and Southwest Illinois 2-1-1 administration and operating responsibilities.

The 2-1-1 Call Center is located at United Way of Greater St. Louis, with data collection hubs in Columbia, Rolla, Springfield and St. Louis. Data hubs focus on updating records about health, health-related and social services to ensure that callers are always receiving up-to-date information.

The 10 Missouri United Ways involved with United Way of Greater St. Louis in the Missouri 2-1-1 program are: United Way of Central Missouri, United Way of the Ozarks, United Way of Southeast Missouri, United Way of Adair County, Columbia Area United Way, United Way of the Mark Twain Area, Callaway County United Way, Carthage Area United Way, United Way of Southwest Missouri and United Way of St. Francois County.

Kansas City and its 16 surrounding counties have had a 2-1-1 service through the United Way of Greater Kansas City since March 2006, with call volume and service also exceeding expectations. That 2-1-1 service is not affected by or included in today’s announcement.