Make 211 the first call for help with rent, utilities, counseling

UNITED WAY IN THE NEWS

April 18, 2006

EDITORIALS
Published by: The Macomb Daily

Lost your job? Can’t pay your rent? Need medical attention but don’t have insurance? If you are in dire straits, Macomb County social service officials hope that you’re going to call 211, a tri-county phone system that can connect the needy to whatever service they need. Thus far, not many Macomb County residents have called the United Way line. But El Cabrel Lee, who oversees the program for United Way, said lack of public knowledge about 211 in Macomb County, not lack of interest or need, hampers the program. “We have increased our resources in Macomb and Oakland by over 50 percent. We’d like more people in Macomb County to know about 211,” he said.

Similar 211 services are in place across the nation to handle calls from low-income people seeking: help with utility bills, food or rent; job training; counseling services; health care; homelessness; substance abuse treatment; tutoring; or child care.

In Macomb County, the top issues of concern among 211 callers are assistance with utility bills or rent. The agencies to which Macomb callers are most often referred include the Michigan Dept. of Human Services, the Salvation Army or St. Vincent de Paul. The Macomb County Community Services Agency, one of Macomb’s top programs for assistance to the “working poor,” ranks seventh on the list and received just 29 referrals in March.

The United Way has hired a consultant to get the word out in Macomb County about 211. Hopefully, the consultant will find a way to publicize the number through all media outlets, including newspapers, radio and television, to make the number as well known as 911, after which it was modeled.

With an average unemployment rate that only recently dipped below 7 percent, Macomb County has residents who are in need right now. Some are homeless. Some are unemployed with benefits running out. Some need food stamps to get by. Some need retraining.

They can all get help by calling 211.