Nevada County becomes first rural county to be approved to provide 2-1-1 services

2-1-1 Nevada County launched on National 2-1-1 DAY, which was on Feb. 11.

2-1-1 is a FREE, accessible, 3 digit telephone number that gives everyone access to the vital community services that they need.  People speaking any language or with any disability can call and speak to a live information and referral specialist, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

2-1-1 is easy to remember, is free and confidential.  2-1-1 enhances efficiency for human services at every level.  2-1-1 has proven itself in the aftermath of disasters.  2-1-1 is the number to call to get help and to give help.

Ninety-one percent of Californian’s can now call 2-1-1.  Eighty percent of all United States residents and twenty-eight percent of Canadians can call 2-1-1.  There are 2-1-1 pilot programs in India and China.

Reasons people call 2-1-1 include; finding resources for a job search, basic needs, such as food and shelter, health care resources, information on schools for their children, childcare, assistance with their utility bills, etc.  There are over 1200 non-profit, government and essential for profit resources listed in the database that information and referral specialists have available to them to provide to the caller.  A caller has only one call to make to find the resource or resources they need.  2-1-1 is available when the caller has the time to call which could be late at night or on a weekend.  2-1-1 is available from any AT&T land line telephone and will eventually be available for callers using a cell phone within Nevada County.

2-1-1 Nevada County was initiated through the vision, collaboration and partnership of a diverse community board made up of 26 individuals from 20 organizations, including 5 county departments.  The community resources website, www.Dial211.com launched in March 2007, provided the platform to build from.  To date the website has had over 4.3 million web hits.

The Vision for 2-1-1 Nevada County is:  Link people living in Nevada County to the health & human services they need when they need them to improve the quality of life. 

Nevada County is the 1^st rural county in California to initiate and create a rural county model for 2-1-1.  The model chosen includes identifying a non-profit lead agency with the capacity and expertise to submit the CPUC application and then selecting a 2-1-1 call center to provide 24 hour call center service using the Dial211 database.  Private Industry Council of Butte County Inc. is the lead agency for 2-1-1 Nevada County.   2-1-1 Sacramento is the call center selected to provide 2-1-1 service meeting AIRS (Alliance for Information and Referral Systems) standards.  2-1-1 Nevada County is funded through partner investments and grants.