National 2-1-1 Day marked by Lifeline

Happy 2-1-1 Day. Lifeline, Inc., Lake County’s community action agency, along with social agencies across the country, are marking Feb. 11 as National 2-1-1 Day, in recognition of the free, 24/7, user-friendly phone and online system that serves 90 percent of the American population.

First launched nationally in 1997 by United Way of Greater Atlanta, and locally in 2004 by United Way of Lake County in partnership with the late Congressman Steven C. LaTourette, 2-1-1 worldwide connects about 12 million people a year to resources,

information and services.

In the U.S, over 12.8 million callers turned to 2-1-1 for help in 2018 via phone calls and web queries from people seeking resources, according to Lifeline. People call or search 2-1-1 looking for resources to meet a number of basic needs, like heating or utility assistance, shelter, emergency help or to find the closest food bank.

They also called for everyday important nonemergency needs, such as developmental screening

for a child, home health care for a relative, job training or free tax filing support.

Lake County’s 2-1-1 information and referral hotline, housed at Lifeline in Painesville, assisted 40,497 requests for assistance in 2019 — an increase of over 4,000 requests from 2018, and the highest volume ever recorded in Lake County in a non-disaster year.

Those 40,497 requests included 27,010 phone calls and 13,487 requests made through the 2-1-1 online resource database.

According to Lifeline, the top needs demonstrated in 2019 included food assistance, at 24 percent of requests, followed by housing/emergency shelter, with 23.5 percent, and utilities assistance at 16.5 percent.

Carrie Dotson, executive director of Lifeline and secretary of the Ohio Alliance of Information and Referral Systems Board, said 2-1-1 is an essential tool for helping people take better care of their families, and also for making more efficient use of a community’s nonprofit and public resources.

“Over the years we have seen the call volume demonstrate that Lake County residents are really utilizing this tool to connect to resources for help with the most basic needs,” she said. “We’ve also seen how 2-1-1 can really impact our community’s ability to respond in times of disaster, like during the 2013 floods.”

So, what happens with a 2-1-1 call? When a person dials 2-1-1, at no cost, the call is routed to a trained information and referral specialist, who helps identify that person’s needs. The specialist then refers them to relevant human services, health or education resources from a comprehensive resource database.

For example, in the case of a worker who has recently been laid off or whose hours have been reduced, the 2-1-1 specialist may share information about unemployment benefits, job search options, food stamps, food pantries, mortgage or rent help, utility assistance, counseling and other available resources.

Lifeline emphasized there is no federal funding for 2-1-1, and, at this time, no state funding available to 2-1-1s in Ohio, making all Ohio 2-1-1s completely locally funded.

“We are fortunate in Lake County that we have strong local support for our 2-1-1,” Dotson said. “Currently our 2-1-1 is funded by a mix of funding led by the Lake County Alcohol, Drug Addiction, and Mental Health Services Board, but also supported by the Lake County Department of Job & Family Services, the City of Mentor and the United Way of Lake County.”

However, changes may be coming for Lake County’s 2-1-1 due to upcoming funding cuts, Dotson noted.

“Much to our dismay and disappointment, our local United Way has made the decision to cease funding for the 2-1-1 program at the end of their fiscal year,” she said. “It’s particularly sad because 2-1-1 is a worldwide United Way initiative and was first launched in our community by the United Way of Lake County.

“Over 40,000 of our community’s most vulnerable residents relied on 2-1-1 last year to help connect them with agencies and programs that could help them meet an urgent need,” she added. “Our board, staff and other funders know the need is there and we will collectively work hard to continue to provide a high quality information and referral service for those folks.”

Lifeline’s 2-1-1 is a member of Ohio AIRS, a private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated to ensuring quality information and referral — commonly referred to as I&R services — throughout Ohio, a “unique process of assessment and information-giving” that enables people to make informed decisions about accessing community resources.

For more information on 2-1-1, visit Lifeline’s website or http://ohioairs. org/211-ohio/.