Northern Fairfield County Residents

Are Using 211 Service

DANBURY — The number of calls to 211 from northern Fairfield County residents has increased close to 50 percent over the last five years, with eight percent of the calls originating from Newtown, according to figures from the United Way’s 211 Infoline in Connecticut.

Established in 1976 between the State of Connecticut and the 24 local United Way chapters, 211 Infoline is a statewide 24-hour telephone information and referral service that provides free community referrals and crisis intervention to anyone in Connecticut. It serves more than 300,000 people across Connecticut annually, and maintains a computerized database of 4,300 health and human service agencies offering 38,000 services and 7,500 licensed child care facilities.  

Of the 6,000-plus calls to 211 from northern Fairfield County residents in 2005, information on substance abuse services was the most sought after, followed by requests for information on utility assistance, housing/shelter, legal services, and health insurance. In addition to these top service requests, more than 100 other types of community referrals were provided to residents calling 211 in the past year. Residents of Danbury represented over 70 percent of the calls to 211 in 2005, followed by Newtown (eight percent), Bethel (seven percent), Brookfield (five percent), Ridgefield (four percent), New Fairfield (four percent), and Redding (one percent).

Current 211 call figures for 2006, through March, exhibit request rankings similar to 2005.

“These figures are extremely useful to us,” said June Renzulli, president of United Way of Northern Fairfield County. “Not only do they tell us what the needs and concerns are in our local community, but they also confirm that we’re on track with our areas of focus and the subsequent funding of programs throughout the area.”

 

Push For Nationwide Expansion

 United Way of America (UWA) has been rallying local communities nationwide to support stronger efforts and federal funding to make 211 service available to all Americans. To help increase 211 coverage nationwide, the Wal-Mart Foundation announced an investment of $500,000 to support United Way efforts.

“Where 211 is operational, people can more quickly gain access to a full range of community resources,” said Brian Gallagher, UWA president and CEO. “In a country where we are only as strong as our local communities, we must ensure that all, not just some, have the ability to give and get help when and where they need it. A nationwide 211 system would do that and citizens can make it happen.”

As evidenced by the response to the hurricanes in Florida where hundreds of thousands of calls went to 211 over many weeks, an active, robust 211 system can be an integral crisis response tool for communities across the country.

In widespread emergencies like an attack, flood, tornado, fire, or health crisis, not only does this valuable service alleviate the strain on systems like 911, but it is also there for people who don’t know where to turn for help, thus saving individuals time and agencies and taxpayers money by making existing systems work more efficiently and effectively.