|
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Much like
4-1-1 acts as a directory for local names and businesses, 2-1-1 is a service
run by United Way
of Anchorage
that allows callers to access information about various social services offered
in their area. Representatives from United
Way were in town Monday to promote and
monitor the service as it pertains to Kodiak. Sue Brogan is the vice president
for community engagement with United
Way of Anchorage,
she said the service receives more than 100 calls per day and 20,000 per year.
-- (United
Way 1 : 21 "Well
we came down today to talk about Alaska
2-1-1. Which is a statewide system for health and human services. You can call
211 and get information on where to find a food pantry, where to get childcare.
It's statewide and it's got a toll free number associated with it and a website
as well.")
Majority of
the calls come from the heavily populated areas like Anchorage
and Fairbanks,
but Brogan said Kodiak makes up about 4 percent of their call base. In general,
most people call with regards to housing.
-- (United
Way 2 : 20 "Rent
and utility assistance. Well, we categorize that all in basic needs. So it
could be rent, it could be utility assistance, it could be providing some sort
of food assistance. It could be health, looking for healthcare, those are
probably the highest requests that we get for information.")
Brogan said the low vacancy and
high rental rates that Kodiak residents struggle with are felt statewide. Based
on the calls they get, United Way
is able to document the needs of Alaskans and work with local and state
organizations, like Alaska Housing Finance, to provide better opportunities. In
the same manner, their database of needs is vital information for legislators
to understand where services are lacking for their constituents.
-- (United
Way 3 : 31 "We
usually go down, we try to make a trip a couple times a year. And this past
January was actually the first time that we held training for the constituent
managers in the legislator offices to use our database. And that was really
well, it wasn't well attended, but hopefully when we go back this year we'll
get a few more folks in. But we talked to the Legislative Affairs Office here
about, because everybody gets calls from their constituents looking for
information.")
Brogan said the program asks
users to provide feedback, allowing them to ensure quality. In general, she
said more than 80 percent of the callers actually seek out the services that 2-1-1
operators suggest.
Looking to
the future, Brogan said the program could see a spike in use, especially if health
care continues to change and people are left with questions or looking for
coverage.
###
|
