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| Community leaders at a news conference announcing the return of 211 Helpline service. From left: Fran Forman of Community Action Commission, Santa Barbara County Supervisor Salud Carbajal, Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schnieder, Healthy Lompoc Coalition director Ashely Costa, Public Health Dept director Dr. Takahashi Wada, and Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte. |
The 2-1-1 Helpline service--a fast, free way to find local health and human services--has been re-launched after a two-year transformation. County residents can dial 211 to get connected to health care, child care, domestic abuse support, counseling and much more. The service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, in 150 languages.
Local nonprofit and political leaders gathered on the County Courthouse steps on July 31, 2015 to celebrate the revitalized service, now operated by the Community Action Commission (CAC). Fran Forman, executive director of CAC, kicked off the event. "All of us know to dial 911 in an emergency," she said, "but we want people to know where to turn for non-emergency services too."
By dialing 211, residents are connected to a trained operator who can help them find health care, child care, domestic abuse support, counseling, food, shelter, substance abuse prevention and treatment, aging and hospice service, and many other services for parents, seniors, veterans and others. The service is also available by calling 800-400-1572, or over a TTY text telephone at 805-919-1148, or on the self-service website at www.211santabarbaracounty.org.
Founded in 2005, the County's 2-1-1 Helpline service lost its host agency in 2013. The County Board of Supervisors, County Executive Office, Department of Social Services, and other County agencies and nonprofits worked together to prevent service interruptions. In 2014 the service was transitioned its new host, CAC.
In the months leading up to the re-launch, CAC meticulously updated the 2-1-1 Helpline database to include over 2000 current local health and human services resources, and totally redesigned the website to provide effective, user-friendly searches.
At the re-launch event, a parade of local leaders took the podium to celebrate the revitalized service.
Santa Barbara Mayor Helene Schneider praised the new host. "CAC knows the social safety net needs of the whole county extremely well," she said. CAC is responsible for maintaining the information and marketing the service. The call center is operated by Ventura-based Interface Children & Family Services.
County Supervisor Salud Carbajal took the microphone to provide special thanks to all those funding the service, including the County's Departments of Social Services, Public Health, Alcohol Drug & Mental Health, as well as the City of Santa Barbara, First Five, Health & Human Services Commission, and Emergency Public Information Communicators.
Others stepped up to explain how the benefits of the 2-1-1 Helpline ripple beyond the individuals it serves.
It's a public health tool, said Public Health Department Director Dr. Takahashi Wada, that "prevents illness by connecting people to health insurance, immunizations, dentistry, and mental health care." What's more, added Healthy Lompoc Coalition director Ashley Costa, "2-1-1 increases the collective impact" of nonprofit agencies and helps them understand changing service needs.
"2-1-1 is a crime prevention tool: it helps people escape domestic abuse or find drug treatment," said District Attorney Joyce Dudley. Mike Cordero, formerly of the Santa Maria police department and city council, added that that "2-1-1 can improve emergency response times by diverting non-emergency calls from 911." People need human services "more often than they need a fire truck," he observed, "so 211 should be at least as popular as 911."
"Talk to your friends and neighbors," Cordero said. "Tell everybody. Everyone should know about 211."
