Find Help. Give Help
Every day people come to the realization that they need help.
People make eight calls on average before finding the right program to help them! Many people give up before they find the help they need. They call local agencies, government, faith congregations, 9-1-1, 4-1-1, etc.
United Way has worked with a variety of local partners to offer a solution – dial 2-1-1.
2-1-1 is the phone number to call to find or give help in your community. 2-1-1 is designed to connect people with health and human service resources across Tennessee.
2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember phone number to find help or give help.
- Open M-F from 7-7, multi-lingual (more than 150 languages)
- Once the caller presses “1” for English or “2” for Spanish, connects immediately with a live person – an expert, nationally certified, Information & Referral Specialist
How does it help the local health and human service network?
- Less staff time spent on information and referral and on ineligible applicants
- Agencies can access the 2-1-1 database to increase or decrease available support
- Fewer non-emergency 9-1-1 calls
- Additional demographic data for grant applications
Where is 2-1-1 offered?
- About 78% of the United States population has access to 2-1-1
- All 95 counties in Tennessee have access
Who is supporting 2-1-1 locally?
- United Way of Metropolitan Nashville pulled together a number of community partners to get 2-1-1 off the ground and running.
- Region Bank is the lead corporate sponsor of 2-1-1 in Middle Tennessee.
- Additional financial support is coming from the Memorial and Saint Thomas Foundations, and eight Middle Tennessee United Way’s including Williamson, Rutherford, Robertson, Sumner, Wilson, Dickson and Cheatham counties as well as United Way of Metropolitan Nashville.
- Family & Children's Service operates the call centers for 2-1-1.
How can you help?
- Help us spread the word about this helpful community service!
- Let your customers and other constituencies know about this great service. We can provide a "communication kit" for you to include the "2-1-1" information in your employee and customer communications. See Doug Fluegel (780-2430 or doug.fluegel@unitedwaynashville) about these kits.
- Verify with your company that the PBX phone system does not block calls from their building(s) to 2-1-1. This is a great resource for everyone!
Click here to link to the national 2-1-1 Web site.
In related news, United Way of America is asking citizens across the country to call and/or write their representatives and senators urging the passage of the Calling for 2-1-1 Act. Interested people are asked to call 1-888-PASS211 or visit www.211.org. Callers will be transferred to their appropriate congressman.
