Help just a new phone number away
Help just a new phone number away
By JANE NORDBERG
DMG Writer
ESCANABA — Upper Peninsula residents requiring clothing, housing, transportation and other necessities need only call “2-1-1.”
The U.P. 2-1-1 call center is now available to the general public and to organizations and agencies throughout the Upper Peninsula.
Funded through the Upper Peninsula Commission for Area Progress (UPCAP), the free phone service links people with human service information 24 hours a day, seven days a week, year-round.
“If you’ve had a house fire in Houghton and you need virtually everything replaced, you could call this number and we would put you in touch with the services in your area,” said UPCAP Executive Director Jonathan Mead.
The call center maintains a comprehensive database of over 560 federal, state and local governmental agencies and non-profit organizations that together provide nearly 6,000 services and benefits across the U.P.
By dialing 2-1-1, a caller is connected to a trained information and referral specialist who can discuss the caller’s needs and provide the appropriate information to address them.
“When you’re in a situation where you need help, you shouldn’t have to guess or look through the phone book to find an agency that will meet your needs,” Mead said.
Some of those needs include clothing, employment, rent and utility assistance, senior services, home care, housing and transportation.
Employing more than a hundred people across the U.P., UPCAP’s main office and call center is located in Escanaba. However, it does staff a small office in Houghton, and an after-hours contract with Dial Help will facilitate local calls to the 211 center.
“After 5 p.m., the call would be picked up by somebody local, but you wouldn’t even know that,” Mead said, because any referral specialist anywhere could provide the same information from the database.
The service also provides a link between volunteers and the agencies who need them, Mead said.
“In many cases, organizations are looking for volunteers but don’t have the time, money or resources to get the word out,” Mead said. Someone with a little free time might be put in touch with a local agency that needs help delivering senior meals, for instance. “Those agencies are all in the database and we’re able to link that individual up,” he said.
Having the 211 line will help relieve the number of non-emergency calls made to 911 emergency services, Mead said.
“If people have an emergency, they should call 911 just the same way they’ve been doing all along, but if they’re dialing 911 and it’s not truly an emergency, 911 (personnel) would surely like to see those types of calls reduced,” he said.
The call center also saves taxpayer-funded dollars in having one central help line, Mead said.
“Instead of the state having hundreds of 1-800 numbers, each costing the taxpayers money, a lot of those will be switched over to the 211 system,” he said.
The system is the first regional multi-county database, preceding some counties downstate who have yet to switch over. As more centers downstate become regionally-based, Mead said, he expected more state and federal funding to be allocated.
Jane Nordberg can be reached at jnordberg@mininggazette.com
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