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Juneau, AK, June 15, 2004 -- A man I'll call Javier phoned the
United Way office here in Juneau recently. In a strongly accented
voice, he spoke with the slow precision of grief. His wife, he
explained, has been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. His family,
lacking health insurance or eligibility for Medicaid, is swamped by
her medical expenses. Soon, they will be evicted from their
apartment. He asked, "Who can I call?"
We turned to one of our United Way member agencies, Catholic
Community Services, for advice. "Refer him to St. Vincent de Paul,"
suggested Betty Adams. "They have staff who work with the Hispanic
community to resolve these very issues." Within minutes, he had a
phone number to call, along with our promise to help ensure that he
connected with a person who could answer his questions.
Javier is just one of thousands of Southeast Alaska residents who
struggle each day to find answers to their urgent questions. Single
mothers need information about day care for their children. Family
members wonder how to care for loved ones with disabilities, or for
fragile seniors. Parents may want to locate a scout troop -- or a
teen substance abuse program. Others would like to get involved,
perhaps as a child's mentor, a hospice volunteer, or a soup kitchen
sous-chef. Who do they call?
Our community is blessed with many hard-working nonprofits that
serve as resources for people facing these and many more issues. For
instance, Catholic Community Services staffs a referral service for
seniors. The Association for the Education of Young Children handles
childcare referrals, and the Juneau office of the National Council
for Alcohol and Drug Dependence (NCADD) fields calls related to
addiction treatment. What's lacking, agency directors tell me, is a
centralized referral service with a well-publicized phone number.
People in our communities, faced with a dramatic increase in the
number of agencies and help lines, often don't know where to turn.
That's why the United Way of America is advocating the
nation-wide implementation of a 2-1-1 number that can refer callers
to human services, whether for everyday needs or in times of crisis.
Instead of looking through dozens of telephone numbers for the right
social service organization, callers would be able to get the
information they need from trained counselors at 2-1-1 centers.
Already, 128 2-1-1 systems are active in 26 states, serving 88
million people, or 32% of the U.S. population. Unfortunately, Alaska
does not number among those states.
If the idea of a 2-1-1 service makes sense to you, you can help.
United Way asks all Americans to call Congress, using the toll-free
number 888-PASS-211, to urge their congressional delegation to
cosponsor the Calling for 2-1-1 Act. This bipartisan legislation (S.
1630 and H.R. 3111), introduced by Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-NC)
and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and Representatives Richard Burr
(R-NC-5) and Ann Eshoo (D-CA-14), has picked up the support of
nearly 100 House sponsors and 27 Senate sponsors. But more support
is needed to spur congressional leadership and the key committees to
action. It is particularly critical to attract the support of more
congressional Republicans. Calling this phone number will help that
effort.
The toll-free phone number 888-PASS-211 is easy to use. It will
identify members of Congress from Alaska, connect you to their
offices free of charge, and will explain how to advocate for 2-1-1.
All citizens will benefit from nationwide 2-1-1 service, so please
call today. For more information, visit
http://www.211.org. |
