An Easy to Remember Number

United Way 211 is a vital service that connects millions of Americans to social services that are in a caller’s service area. Each year, 211 in Minnesota provides hundreds of thousands of referrals, providing our friends and neighbors with the information they need to access these valuable community resources.

Resources such as housing, food, crisis counseling, financial assistance, health care assistance, unemployment services, veteran services, childcare, family services, and much more.

211 in Minnesota has a long standing history of stepping up in times of need both locally and nationally. From the I-35 bridge collapse, to the increasing number of strong hurricanes that have impacted the Gulf Coast, and even recently the winter storms that have impacted much of the country.

Here’s some facts about 211 in Minnesota: Steele County is serviced by the hub at Greater Twin Cities United Way. This hub covers all but 11 of our 87 Minnesota counties. The three hubs that serve the state of Minnesota have a shared database of over 40,000 resources. The support specialists are available 24 hours a day/7 days a week with English, Hmong, and Spanish speakers available on staff. The hub has access to interpreters that can provide help to callers in both Russian and Somali as well.

Over 40,000 resources! Just one statistic that shows how helpful reaching out to 211 can be for anybody in need of social services resources in Steele County and throughout the state of Minnesota. When you call the United Way of Steele County after office hours, you’ll even hear me reminding folks that this resource is available for anyone that needs assistance right away. It’s that valuable not only to us at United Way – but to our communities as well. 211 extends our city and county systems capacity; diverting unnecessary calls away from our local emergency responders.

An easy to remember number, 2-1-1 reduces confusion and the need to remember another 800 number and efficiently provides timely, relevant, and accurate community resources to those in need.

Neil Lyons is the Operations Coordinator for United Way of Steele County. He can be reached at 507-455-1180 or via email at neil.lyons@unitedwaysteelecounty.org. For more information visit our website www.unitedwaysteelecounty.org