Connects people to resources in times of crisis
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Clockwise from top left, 211 workers Rebeca Arredondo, Viri Rodriguez, Hassan Hammoud, Jozette Gaiters and Patty McGhee. (Photos provided)
Clockwise from top left, 211 workers Rebeca Arredondo, Viri Rodriguez, Hassan Hammoud, Jozette Gaiters and Patty McGhee. (Photos provided)
Clockwise from top left, 211 workers Rebeca Arredondo, Viri Rodriguez, Hassan Hammoud, Jozette Gaiters and Patty McGhee. (Photos provided)
Clockwise from top left, 211 workers Rebeca Arredondo, Viri Rodriguez, Hassan Hammoud, Jozette Gaiters and Patty McGhee. (Photos provided)
This week, the Midland area community withstood two crises at once – a deadly pandemic and a 100-year flood that caused multiple dam failures – and all the while, dispatchers at 211 Northeast Michigan were taking calls to direct people to potentially life-saving resources.
Anyone within the crisis center’s 23-county coverage area can use the free service to connect to local resources for food, shelter and more, which Executive Director of 211 Northeast Michigan Sarah Kile said is more pertinent than ever. She said in the current climate, there are people in crisis who have never needed help before and therefore might not know how to connect.
But, this is what 211 does and knows best. Actually, the local nonprofit call center was born from a crisis as a collaborative solution envisioned more than a decade ago.
In 2008, United Way of Midland County was operating a program called “First Call For Help” when the Great Recession hit America, and subsequently the Midland area. At the time, the program was heavily an in-person resource and relied on thick printed binders of information that were subject to quickly be outdated.
United Way of Midland County Executive Director Holly Miller said the recession “taxed that system.” She said it was the first time in a generation that America had seen double digit unemployment numbers and people who had never found themselves in peril before didn’t understand how to connect with help. United Way had “droves” of people reaching out.
“It drew our attention to how ill-equipped we were to deal with this face-to-face and that we didn’t have a repository,” Miller said. “So, many people were tripping over each other because we didn’t have a repository of resources that were vetted; we didn’t have a systematic way to say this ‘this is helpful’ and ‘this isn’t helpful.’ We didn’t have a system for managing it.”
This left United Way scrambling to create an ad hoc database to put on their website filled with local resources and phone numbers. Miller said it was rudimentary, but the message was focused on “hope in the darkness.”
“It was a great learning opportunity to realize that in times of crisis, resources and connecting to resources and connection to people play such a vital role,” Miller said.
Shortly after, in 2009, 211 Northeast Michigan was launched by visionaries who recognized the resource would be needed outside of Midland as well. Original board members represented community stakeholders such as Chemical Bank, Dow, Consumers Energy, United Way and more.
“Needs don’t stop at borders,” Miller said. “And so many of us cross those county borders on a regular basis from working to home to family and so recognize that this was bigger than a single county.”
Together, they collaborated to create the 211 service that also covered five neighboring counties, in addition to Midland. However, the organization didn’t stop expanding and eventually filled in the gaps so that every rural Michigan county was covered by a 211 call center, completing the state in 2017 by covering St. Clair County.
“The vision that started here in Midland, completed the picture for the entire State of Michigan,” Kile said.
Today, 211 Northeast Michigan is one of seven call centers in the state and serves 23 counties – Alcona, Alpena, Arenac, Bay, Cheboygan, Clare, Crawford, Gladwin, Gratiot, Huron, Iosco, Isabella, Midland, Montmorency, Ogemaw, Oscoda, Otsego, Presque Isle, Roscommon, Saginaw, Sanilac, St Clair, and Tuscola. Now, it has gone beyond being just a crisis hotline to offer text message help, online chatting and an extensive online database, offering valuable person-to-person connection when needed – quickly and easily.
“Data is part of the beauty of 211, but part of it is that a person talks to you, and they listen to you and they empathize with you and they try to understand what you’re facing,” Miller said.
211 is an organization that connects people to other organizations and resources that can help with needs, such as food, housing, shelter and more. For more information or help, dial 2-1-1 on your phone, text your zip code to 211, or visit https://ift.tt/2TvR5sQ to chat with someone online or browse local resources.
Editor's note: This article is the first installment of a weekly, local impact campaign the Daily News is launching in partnership with 211 Northeast Michigan to raise awareness and provide continuing education about this vital service.
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