2-1-1 is the free, 24-hour phone number to find help in Southern California. 2-1-1 is the new dialing code approved by the Federal Communications Commission to connect people with the health and social services they need. Like 9-1-1 for emergency calls, 2-1-1 can connect people to support services for seniors and the disabled, childcare, employment assistance, emergency food and shelter, child and adult protective services, and legal assistance.
"The day we've been waiting for is here," said Maribel Marin, the president of the California Alliance of Information and Referral Services (CAIRS), the statewide organization of agencies that provide information and referral services such as 2-1-1 to the public. "We're making the switch to 2-1-1, and the residents of Southern California are the big winners."
In order to promote the orderly provision of 2-1-1 services throughout the state, the California Public Utilities Commission has designated a provider of 2-1-1 service in each county according to strict standards. In the Southern California counties where services are rolling out, the designated agencies each have decades of experience providing this central information role.
Other counties around the state will be implementing 2-1-1 service in 2005 and 2006 and beyond.
"Helping to establish 2-1-1 is one of the United Way's top priorities all across the nation," said Mark Walker, president of the United Ways of California. "In Southern California, United Way has supported the project with creative and financial contributions. We understand that services are only valuable if the people who need them can get connected. 2-1-1 will help make that possible."
By substituting "2-1-1" for the myriad of toll-free and other numbers that exist today, Southern California residents benefit by being able to quickly and easily get access to the social and disaster services they need.
"2-1-1 is the phone number for people to call to find help in their own community," noted Marin, executive director of 2-1-1 LA County, one of the local not-for-profit agencies that actually handle the calls. "2-1-1 is designed to connect people with the health and social services they need. With 2-1-1 in place, our Southern California 2-1-1 agencies expect to handle more than 750,000 calls per year."
2-1-1 Partners
The California Alliance of Information and Referral Services ("CAIRS") is a statewide professional body of information and referral services. For the past 6 years, CAIRS has worked to guide the initiation of 2-1-1 planning, successfully sought foundation funding for the planning process, petitioned the CPUC to establish procedures for the selection of 2-1-1 providers in California, and developed the 2-1-1 collaborative infrastructure in the state.
CAIRS is also the California affiliate of the national Alliance of Information and Referral Systems ("AIRS") that, along with the United Way of America, successfully petitioned the FCC to approve the use of the 2-1-1 dialing code for accessing information on community services.
The collaboration of Information and Referral Agencies, United Ways and government entities is crucial to the successful launch of 2-1-1 at the local, state and national level. CAIRS is partnering with United Ways of California to build a statewide 2-1-1 system for Californians.
