Montana embracing human services help line – 211

In emergencies, people know to pick up the phone and dial 9-1-1 for help.

But what’s the right number for help that’s less urgent but still critical, like getting help with the heating bill or buying a warm coat for the winter?

By JO DEE BLACK
Tribune Staff Writer

http://www.greatfallstribune.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041120/NEWS01/411200303/1002

Organizers hope that one day, 2-1-1 will be the number people call to find out where to turn.

"The movement behind 2-1-1 is to try to make human services as accessible as possible for the people who need them," said Susie McIntyre, Montana’s 2-1-1 coordinator. "Right now there are so many public and private services and so many toll-free numbers, people don’t know were to start."

As of January 2004, 28 percent of the U.S. population had access to 2-1-1 service. And if organizers reach their goal, all of Montana will have access to the service within the next two years.

Operators for 2-1-1 can give callers local referral numbers for everything from food banks to childcare. It’s not a crisis line; callers needing suicide prevention or rape counselors are transferred to those services immediately.

Heather LaMere, 21, found out she can get food at the Helping Hands program at First English Lutheran Church from her caseworker at a government program, Better Beginnings.

The mother of a 5-month-old, LaMere said food stamps aren’t keeping enough food on the table for her family.

"Something like 2-1-1 is a great idea," she said. "I grew up in this neighborhood, and I had no idea that Helping Hands existed."

Most referrals are by word of mouth, Helping Hands volunteer Judy Lowthian said.

"I think programs like that (2-1-1) will get more people the help they need," she said.

There are seven statewide 2-1-1 programs. Another 19 states, including Montana, have at least some communities served by 2-1-1.

The program started operating in Missoula, Mineral and Ravalli counties in March.

It’s actually just a new number for the existing First Call for Help line.

"This number (2-1-1-) is easier to remember. That’s the big thing," said Jim Morton, executive director of the local Human Resource Council that runs the program.

It’s also easier for newcomers.

"When you are new to a community and you need help, you have no idea who to contact," said Les Stevenson, the executive director for Opportunities Inc., a Great Falls organization that administers several human services programs. "In other cases, if it’s the first time someone needs help and then they get referred to the wrong agency, they might get discouraged and give up."

The 2-1-1 line is set to begin soon in Flathead, Lincoln, Lake, Sanders and western Glacier counties.

"Our 9-1-1 people are delighted, because they get calls asking for human service numbers now," said Sherry Stevens Wulf, executive director for Helpnet First Call for Help in Kalispell, the organization that provides the human services phone directory service. "In places with 2-1-1, those kinds of calls decrease."

A 2-1-1 line also can divert calls from 9-1-1 during disasters. For instance, in Florida during the hurricanes, people could get up-to-date information about emergency shelter and food by calling 2-1-1, freeing up 9-1-1 lines for emergencies.

"We are working with our local disaster services to be set up to do the same thing during events such as wild fires," Morton said.

The goal is to have 2-1-1 service in the rest of the state, including Cascade County, within two years, said McIntyre, who works with the Great Falls organization Voices of Hope.

A health and human services database is being compiled now with a $400,000 grant from the National Library of Medicine.

"The grant is not directly for Montana 2-1-1, but that data base is the backbone for the program," McIntyre said.

Nationally, the United Way is backing the 2-1-1 movement. Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., has a bill before the Senate Commerce Committee to provide $200 million to establish and maintain a national 2-1-1 system. States would have to provide matching money to get the federal funds.

In Montana, a business plan still is being developed, but the estimated start-up cost for a statewide 2-1-1 program is $400,000.

"Operation costs will depend on the number of call centers, but it looks like the system will cost about $1.4 million annually," McIntyre said.

In Missoula, the 2-1-1 referral line operates from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. with one full-time and three part-time employees. The $80,000 annual funding comes from the local United Way and the Human Resources Council.

"We already had the data base in place, so the most costly thing is having an employee to keep that up to date," Morton said. "It includes 1,000 sources, and we check with each one every six months. It doesn’t do any good to give someone a number for an organization that no longer exists."

Reach Black at (406) 791-6502 or [email protected].