By Adrienne J. Tissier and Anne Wilson, San Jose Mercury News
Original publication date: Feb. 12

San Mateo County, Calif. — Sometimes the search for food, shelter and other basic necessities can end in frustration. Navigating the myriad of telephone numbers, automated directories, search engines and social service agencies can be confusing when you need help the most. But now there is a place to turn to in San Mateo County that can help.

United Way and its partners are pleased to announce that the 211 help line has launched in San Mateo County. The addition of San Mateo County completes the 211 network in the Bay Area, now serving all 12 counties in our region.

211 is a toll-free, 24-hour, multilingual information line that connects people in need with health and human services. You can now pick up a phone anywhere in the Bay Area, call 211, and immediately gain access to hundreds of local organizations that provide services such as child care, flu shots, employment assistance, counseling, food, shelter and more.

The expansion of 211 in the Bay Area will prove crucial in the next earthquake or disaster. When disaster strikes, 211 will provide residents with critical information about evacuation routes, food and shelter. After the disaster, 211 can provide information about finding jobs and permanent housing during long-term recovery. Should calls overload our local operators, 211 call centers across the nation can assist using locally supplied information.

In addition to disaster response and recovery, 211 offers tremendous economic benefits for our region:

• It is a cost- and time-saving tool for police, social workers and other community service providers who call 211 directly to get information to help clients and constituents.
• It benefits businesses by reducing employee absenteeism and increasing productivity due to fast, quality referrals for a comprehensive array of services.
• It reduces the number of non-emergency calls to 911 and also provides 911 operators as well as first-responders with a place to easily refer non-emergency calls.

The San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, county agencies and local nonprofits are working together to help United Way spread the word that 211 is now available in San Mateo County. United Way’s 211 team is also collaborating with the San Mateo County’s Community Information Program to update and maintain the 211 San Mateo County resource database.

Our county provides some of the best opportunities in our state, and some would say our nation. But for those less fortunate, our county provides some of the very best social services for our residents. United Way 211 is the ultimate tool to provide access to the thousands of services available to the people of San Mateo County. Learn more at www.211BayArea.org.

About the Authors
Adrienne J. Tissier, is a San Mateo County supervisor and Anne Wilson is CEO of United Way of the Bay Area, which operates 211 in San Mateo and five other Bay Area counties.

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