Statewide Nevada 2-1-1 helpline turns 5, aids thousands
On Feb. 11, Nevada 2-1-1, a statewide health and human services help line, turned 5. In lieu of party hats and cake, a chorus of phone rings marked the occasion at the state's two call centers in Reno and in the HELP of Southern Nevada building, 1640 E. Flamingo Road.
Last year, 75,000 calls were fielded, and an uncountable number of links were made and questions answered as Nevadans reached out to the beacon of light in a sea of options available to them.
"They don't know where to go," said Fuilala Riley, chief operating officer for HELP of Southern Nevada. The service started five years ago, around the time the federal government established 2-1-1 as the primary number regarding the human aspect of services and referrals, said Duffy Gold, Nevada 2-1-1 statewide coordinator.
The governor, Kenny Guinn , commissioned an executive committee consisting of the United Way of Southern Nevada, the United Way of Northern Nevada and the Sierra, the Crisis Call Center, HELP of Southern Nevada and the state of Nevada to get the state's chapter on the line.
The line is open from 8 a.m. to midnight Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Operators in both call centers man the line and stay privy to services statewide. Gold said a Reno operator may handle a call, for instance, and be knowledgeable about Las Vegas programs.
The operators are trained to be neutral, confidential and professional, Gold added, but callers aren't dealing with an artificial, automated answer.
"It's live-person-to-live-person interaction," Gold said.
The top three services requested and rendered are rental assistance, food services and utility assistance, Gold said.
Riley said HELP of Southern Nevada's partnership with Nevada 2-1-1 helped her nonprofit group move away from the long-offered directory it compiled.
"One of the things we struggled with was as soon as we went to print, the updates were out of date," she said. "Agencies change. Personnel changes, services change with funding it made sense for us to operate the call center."
Programs available in the compressed database include medical and health care, legal services, emergency shelter, housing services, employment, transportation, municipality information, mental health, child and family services, consumer services, senior services and gay, lesbian and transgender services, Gold said.
Translation services in more than 150 languages are available. HELP of Southern Nevada recently expanded its Flamingo Road campus, and Nevada 2-1-1 employees were part of the move. Space is reserved if the program needs to grow, Riley said. For more information, visit nevada211.org .
Contact Centennial and Paradise View reporter Maggie Lillis at mlillis@viewnews.com or 477-3839.
