Move over 411: there’s another information phone number in town, which refers callers to human services organizations for the help they need or want. The "community connection" is United Way’s 211 telephone help line, which made its debut last June in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Ga.Available free of charge 24 hours a day, seven days a week, the 211 help line is designed to be a simple, easy-to-remember number to call when Atlanta residents need access to human services. All calls are confidential. The information and referral service developed out of the success of United Way’s First Call For Help, an information service using a full seven-digit number, and The Volunteer Center.
The help line currently is in operation in the 404 and 770 calling areas. The two area codes represent the counties of Butts, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding and Rockdale served by the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc.
"United Way is how we as citizens work together on our community’s most important issues," said Kent C. Nelson, United Way board chair and retired CEO of United Parcel Service. "Over time, United Way 211 will become one of the most valuable and powerful tools we have to make a real difference for the people who call metro Atlanta home."
Trained specialists staff United Way 211 and provide callers with information ranging from substance abuse counseling to food and clothing, employment and summer camps. Referral information also is provided to callers interested in volunteer opportunities or in finding nonprofit organizations that need donations such as food, clothing, furniture and other items.
Substance abuse groups receiving referrals from the 211 program include Cobb County Safe and Drug-Free Schools, the deKalb Prevention Alliance, Mission New Hope, National Families in Action, PRIDE, the St. Jude Recovery Center, the Metro Atlanta Recovery Residence and dozens of other treatment, prevention, education, drunk-driving, drug-testing and smoking cessation programs.
The staff of United Way 211 has at its fingertips a referral database that includes over 1,300 programs and services. In addition, Spanish-speaking staffers are available, as well as access to AT&T’s Language Line, which contains 140 additional languages.
The help line also has its own phone book, called the Help Book 1998. It contains a comprehensive listing of 811 health and human service agencies, from governmental, United Way-funded and other nonprofit organizations. The resource guide has been made available to schools, churches, civic organizations, the business community and to individuals in helping professions.
According to Nelson, United Way 211 is the first three-digit number in the country to operate as a community connection. Other United Way agencies throughout the U.S. are using United Way 211 as a model for similar individual help lines. It is not known, however, if the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which oversees the three-digit numbers used nationwide, including 411 and 911, will approve the 211 number for use throughout the U.S. The 211 number must first be filed with the FCC for national purposes. Currently the number has been established as a local number in Atlanta only.
The United Way received $1.6 million in grants from the Joseph B. Whitehead Foundation, the Tull Foundation, the Vasser Wooley Foundation and an anonymous foundation to establish the help line. Phone equipment and the necessary technology was donated by Atlanta businessman Virgil Williams. Nelson notes that the remainder of the funding will be used to expand the United Way 211 calling center space, add new technology and hire additional staff.
Since the help line went into operation, the staff has handled hundreds of calls. To support the continued operation of United Way 211, the agency will rely on support from individual donations and revenue from products and services, making it a true community connection.
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