A Snohomish County family has never before experienced unemployment and does not know where to turn for help.
A Whatcom County parent with a drug-addicted adult child has no knowledge of treatment programs, their locations or their availability.
An Island County family learns that they qualify for the Basic Food program.
A Skagit County caller learns about H1N1 flu and where vaccine is available.
These stories — all real — share a common thread: Each of these individual callers needed assistance quickly, but the solutions were not simple.
These Washington residents were helped by calling 2-1-1. Well-trained information and referral specialists, supported by a statewide resource database (www.win211.org), listened to and worked with each caller to locate the closest and best available assistance. Resources include government, nonprofit and faith-based programs.
Every day, here and throughout the country, 2-1-1 staff members answer calls such as these and help connect callers to available services. Sometimes, there are no services available for the stated need and a caller is redirected to a program that is available — which hadn’t occurred to the caller as an option.
In Washington, 2-1-1 is currently available in all 39 counties through a network of seven geographic regions linked together by a common phone system and resource database. More than 398,000 of our Washington neighbors called 2-1-1 in 2009. 2-1-1’s toll-free services are supported locally through many United Way organizations, partner agencies, grant funders and the state.
State funding is in jeopardy right now, which may force service reductions, at a time when 2-1-1 is needed most!
Please contact your legislator(s) to urge that they restore the $500,000 in 2-1-1 funding that was removed from the budget.
Bill Brackin, CRS
Program Director
Volunteers of America North Sound 2-1-1
Everett
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