Pennsylvania 211 Initiative

Posted by on May 7, 2007

Every day, Pennsylvanians need helps finding resources more than ever and often do not know where to begin. To find help, consumers have choices of hundreds of hotlines and information and referral lines to find services from more than 50,000 nonprofit agencies and hundreds of government departments. As a result, a group of United Ways and community partners is working to launch a 2-1-1 system for our region to eliminate the fragmentation and disorganization.

2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember, three-digit dialing code for accessing community information and referral. 2-1-1 has emerged as a ubiquitous and valuable social utility ? a community-building tool that strengthens social bonds, improves people?s lives, and makes communities stronger and safer throughout our region. 2-1-1 is offered in 41 of 50 states across the county and it?s time for us to make this a reality for Southeastern Pennsylvania.

Once up and running 211 Southeastern PA will provide

? 24/7 telephone information and referral,
? a comprehensive web-enabled database, data collection and reporting about emergent trends and needs, and
? county-based outreach offices.

As one provider stated, ?This is the front end of the social service delivery system. No matter what the quality of the programs, if I&R is broken, clients are poorly served from the start.?

For more information, http://www.uwsepa.org/communityimpact/211.htm or contact Joe Willard or Sara McCullough at United Way at 215.665.2500 or jwillard@uwsepa.org or smccullough@uwsepa.org.