Aug 7, 2014 4 min read

It’s pretty well ingrained in the national psyche that when you have an emergency, no matter where you are in the United States, you call 911. United Way Southwest, in an 11-county region, hopes to achieve that kind of automatic recognition with its telephone information and referral service that those in need reach by calling 211.

The help line is a free, 24/7 confidential phone service and searchable online database that can be viewed at www.pa211sw.org.

Too many times, to have his or her needs met, a person might have to call, for example, seven different agencies. “They must tell the hardship story seven times,” said Kevin Boozel, project manager for the United Way of Allegheny County for the past 2 1/2 years. “At 211, we know what services are available and what the eligibilities are.”

The 211 center has more than 25,000 services in its database. “It’s a broadband of things we do,” Boozel said.

Calls from Washington County residents have encompassed a variety of issues during a recent week in July:

• Client needs help in a rent-to-own (home); pays $850 per month; works only part time.

• Woman needs $1,200 rent security deposit; husband is out of work and looking; caller works full time but is paid little.

• Caller saw oil drum in river and wanted to know who to call.

• Water and (sewerage) shut off six days ago. Working part time, no water in home with a 1-year-old.

• Needs bed for grandson.

• 67-year-old had kidney transplant 10 years ago. Looking for help paying for transplant-related drug.

Needs related to housing, such as getting behind in rent payments and facing eviction, are the topic of most of the calls to 211 coming from Washington and Greene counties. Imminent utility shut-offs account for the second-most, and people who need food come in third. Callers are not required to identify themselves.

When one categorizes why people in the 11-county area are seeking assistance, housing and utilities account for 70 percent of the calls.

The center may see a spike in calls from a particular area if a plant closes.

“There is no unemployment office anymore,” Boozel said. Those who do not have access to a computer to fill out an online application for unemployment compensation can be placed in touch with Pennsylvania’s CareerLinks to talk to someone about filing an unemployment compensation claim.

Boozel said the calls made to 211 provide a handy guide for United Ways “to look at your market and see where to invest your money” according to the needs of the community.

Accessing data from the compiled 211 calls also is important to nonprofit organizations. “Agencies are able to use our numbers for their own grants,” noted Boozel, who formerly worked as a housing counselor and residence initiative director for the Housing and Redevelopment Authority of Butler County.

“To be able to secure additional state money from grants, they wanted to know how many people you served.”

The call-takers are trained in how to input information, including keywords. “We keep building our database to keep it functional and alive,” Boozel said. “We conduct followup calls with about 7 percent of the callers.” If someone has phoned about a food-distribution program, a percentage will receive a callback asking if the caller actually found help from the food program to which he or she was referred.

About 66 percent of the callers to 211 are calling for the first time. This year, the service estimates it will receive 70,000 calls in the 11-county area.

Many times, people are unaware of what services are available until they actually need them.

Boozel said he also is a fireman and emergency management coordinator in his “volunteer life.”

“On a really bad day, we’re going to be playing in the same sandbox,” he said. “Any non-emergency call, we can handle for 911.”

A program known as the Pennsylvania Link to Aging and Disability Resources is having 211 handle inquiries on how to help senior citizens and people with disabilities maintain their independence and quality of life.

“In Washington, Greene, Beaver and Fayette, we are managing the link calls for these four counties,” Boozel said. “It’s a pilot program in Pennsylvania.”

Needs change with different seasons, and a nonprofit group that plans a Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner for the community may want to let 211 know about the event so it can connect those in need.

Boozel said the nonprofits who want to offer services can email 211 at info@pa211sw.org.