Arizona’s phone line to help callers with food, housing, mental health and other crises returns to live service April 30. The live 211 service hotline was reduced to an automated answering system last year due to a lack of funding.
The 211 line partially reopened in March to answer coronavirus-related questions only. Now, a group of nonprofits and utility services are paying to restore live service for all crisis questions.
Justin Chase is CEO of Crisis Response Network, which runs the service. He said callers in crisis tend to focus on immediate problems like shelter, food or health concerns, but a trained operator answering the phone can act as a case manager to address multiple issues.
“Being able to have a trained professional on the other end who’s able to walk through the complex needs that individuals have, we can do a much better job at meeting people’s needs as early as possible,” Chase said. “We really walk them through, ‘let’s get through the immediacy here, but then how do we sustain this to get through the next hurdle?’”
Since partially reopening in March, 211 operators have responded to 28,000 calls. They will now be available 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Additional state funding will allow the service to operate 24 hours a day starting in July.
211 operators can address issues including:
- Supplemental food and nutrition programs
- Shelter and housing options
- Utilities assistance
- Emergency information and disaster relief
- Employment and education opportunities
- Services for veterans
- Health care, vaccination and health epidemic information
- Addiction prevention and rehabilitation programs
- Re-entry help for ex-offenders
- Support groups for individuals with mental illnesses or special needs
- A safe, confidential path out of physical and/or emotional domestic violence
