By Stephen Wall, Staff Writer
Starting this week, hundreds of local health and social-services programs can be easily accessed by San Bernardino County residents by simply picking up the phone.
A toll-free 211 call system was launched Wednesday to help residents navigate an often confusing maze of programs and services, including drug treatment, domestic-violence counseling and health care.
The new system is expected to drastically reduce the overload on the 911 network and provide an invaluable resource during natural disasters, officials said.
"San Bernardino County has never had a comprehensive database of all the county, city and nonprofit organizations in the county," said Gary Madden, 211 director for Inland Empire United Way, which provides the service from its call center in Rancho Cucamonga.
There are now about 600 agencies in the network's database offering about 1,100 programs, Madden said. The database is about 60 to 70 percent complete and is growing daily, he said.
The free and confidential service is available to residential and most cell-phone users, Madden said.
Businesses must have their phones programmed to access the 211 system, he said.
By dialing 211, the caller is connected to an English-and Spanish-speaking operator who will assess the situation and provide information and referrals. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Translations can be provided in more than 150 languages.
"The 211 system should have a major impact in the ease in which the residents of the county can access services," 2nd District County Supervisor Paul Biane said in a prepared statement.
The budget for the service this year is $800,000, with funding coming from San Bernardino County, First 5 San Bernardino, United Way and Bank of America.
United Way is applying for grants to expand the database and provide services to city and county offices, Madden said.
The 211 service has been implemented in 40 states and serves 185 million Americans, Madden said.
San Bernardino County is the eighth county in California to have 211 coverage. Riverside County's service was activated in July 2005.
Kent Paxton, Children's Network officer for San Bernardino County, said the 211 service is an excellent concept.
"Unfortunately, our health and social-service system is all over the map," Paxton said. "Typically, it's not unusual for someone to have to make three or four different calls to get where they need to be. 211 cuts through that lengthy process."
For more information on the service, call United Way at (909) 980-2857 or visit www.211sb.com.
Contact Stephen Wall at (909) 386-3916 or by e-mail at stephen.wall@sbsun.com.
BS Ranch Perspective:
This is a long time coming, this should have been around a long time ago! I am glad that it is here now, better late then never I always say! I hope that the program is a total success, and the 2-1-1 dial in Social Service Program works well, because this is something that has been needed for a very long time, the people, & Victim's of Social Crimes such as Rape, or even that of Child Molest, now have a place to call for help other then the regular 9-1-1.
BS Ranch
No comments:
Post a Comment