New countywide resource creates one-stop call center for social services
HelpLine 211 Executive Director Sue Hanson introduces the new 211 system that will create a virtual one-stop shop for social services during a launch event Thursday at Union Station. (EXAMINER PHOTO | REUBEN MEES)
A virtual one-stop shop for social services is now live in Logan County.
The 211 service is both an around-the-clock staffed telephone call center and an online searchable database. It will help not only social service providers and those looking to access services, but individuals who want to find ways to volunteer, donate resources or identify unmet community needs, according to Sue Hanson, executive director of the Delaware, Ohio-based HelpLine 211, which is providing the local service under a five-year contract. And those who call and talk to a live operator are also talking with an individual who has been trained in crisis management.
“Two-one-one is more than just a database of numbers,” she said. “It also gives people an opportunity to speak to someone who can help them problem solve.
“The idea behind 211 is like having a one-stop shop that will be there 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. Even when other agencies are closed, there will be one place individuals can call and talk to someone who is trained, who is empathetic and who cares.”
Read complete story in Friday’s Examiner.
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