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2-1-1
Kings County |
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How
many times have you tried to look up services
in your community only
to end up so confused and frustrated; never
finding what you need? You have all the
intentions of looking up the information
yourself in the phone book; you know, the
one they call “The Yellow Pages”,
but as you start your search, you notice
that the “yellow” pages are
becoming more like the colors of the rainbow.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m all
for organization, but somehow in their
intent of categorizing services in the
phone book by colored pages, they have
created a monster search for the simplest
thing, and frankly, who has the time? I
know I don’t.
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What
if I told you there was a free, accessible,
3-digit telephone number that gives everyone
access to community health and human services?
In addition, what if I told you that there
is a live person there to answer the phone
24 hours a day 7 days a week, 365 days
a year? Unbelievable? Not at all, it is
reality! With the help of the United Way,
Kings County has recently been added to
that special service. The name of this
new program is 2-1-1 Kings County.
On November 23, 2009, Kings County launched
its very own multilingual-staffed 2-1-1 call
center. Supporters include the United Way,
Behavioral Health and Child Abuse Prevention
Coordinating Counsel.
While
services that are offered through the 2-1-1
program vary from community to
community, 2-1-1 provides callers with information
about and referrals to human services for
every day needs and in times of crisis. Keep
in mind, however, this number is for non-emergency
assistance only.
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| 2-1-1
Can Offer Access to the Following Types
of Services: |
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Basic
Human Needs Resource: food, shelters, clothing,
rent & utility assistance.
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Physical
and Mental Health Resources: health
insurance, Medicaid and Medicare,
counseling, crisis, drug and alcohol
intervention and rehabilitation.
- Employment
Support: financial assistance, job training,
transportation
assistance, education programs.
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Support
for Older Americans and Persons with
Disabilities: adult day care,
Meals on Wheels, transportation,
respite & home
health care.
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Support
for Children, Youth and Families: childcare, afterschool
programs,
Head Start, recreation programs,
tutoring, protective services.
- Volunteer
opportunities and donations.
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Every
hour of every day, hundreds of people
need essential human services. They are looking for training, employment,
food pantries, help for an aging parent,
addiction prevention programs for their
teenage children, affordable housing
options, support groups and ways of
becoming part of their community.
2-1-1 is an easy to remember telephone
number that, where available, connects
people with important community services
and volunteer opportunities. 2-1-1
allows people to give help and to get
help. In 2009, 2-1-1 services in the
United States answered more than 16.2
million calls. The implementation of
2-1-1 is spearheaded by the United
Way and information and referral agencies
in states and local communities.
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Are
you excited yet?
Are
you ready for some more exciting news?
Not only is all this information available
to you by a single phone call, it is
also available online! Visit http://www.211kingscounty.org and see what your community has to offer.
2-1-1 can also be dialed directly at
1-877-864-9290. As of this writing, there
are 18 organized categories. Clicking
on each individual category will give
you more of a breakdown of services within
each category.
So,
with that being said, I do hope you
get the chance to visit the new
2-1-1 site and see how wonderful locating
services in your community can be.
I will even venture to guess that you
will have learned something about your
community you never knew.
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Photo by Elizabeth Hall |
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- Food,
Clothing and Material Goods
- Housing
Locator
- Housing
Services, Utilities and Transportation
- Health
- Mental Health
- Substance
Abuse
- Children/Youth/Teen
and Family
- Employment,
Training and Commerce
- Education
- Legal
- Disaster/Emergency
- Victim
Services
- Government
Services and Benefits
- Seniors
- People
with Disabilities
- Military,
Veterans, and Families of
- Volunteer/Donations/Recreation
- H1N1
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- 2-1-1
is free and confidential.
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- 2-1-1
simplifies access and increases the
effectiveness of the entire health
and human services system.
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- 2-1-1
can provide system wide cost savings through
a reduction in 800
numbers used for nonprofits and state organizations.
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- 2-1-1
plays a key role in public safety; relives
911call volume, allowing for faster response
to real emergencies and cost savings,
and plays a major role in disaster response.
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2-1-1 is included in the Federal
Bioterrorism Act as part of the
needed infrastructure for disaster preparedness.
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- 2-1-1
is an easy to remember telephone number
that connects people with important community
services and volunteer opportunities.
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- All
counties must be prepared for natural
disasters including wild fires, mudslides,
floods and earthquakes. A 2-1-1 system
can be a powerful part of a county’s
and state’s crisis preparedness
and response network.
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