United Way in the News

United Way plans a new one-stop help number

Posted on June 22, 2005
BY DANA STRONGIN
The Wichita Eagle

Kansas' United Way chapters want to make finding help, and giving it, a lot easier.

The organization announced Tuesday its plans to launch a toll-free number to help connect people to services throughout the state.

The new number, 211, will replace local chapter numbers such as the United Way of the Plains' InfoLine, which has been in place since 1954.

The three-number combination, meant to be as easy to remember as 911, could be operational as early as this fall, said Patrick Hanrahan, president of the United Way of the Plains. The number, which is active in 32 states, will be a one-stop connection for people seeking assistance, as well as those who want to volunteer.

At first, the 211 service will be available only to SBC and Sprint landline customers. United Way officials intend to negotiate contracts with other local and cellular providers.

Callers have been able to use InfoLine only during business hours, but Hanrahan hopes to make 211 available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. To achieve this, overnight and weekend calls may be answered by workers from the Heart of America United Way in Kansas City, Mo.

Both the Wichita and Kansas City United Ways have plans for new call centers with the necessary technology to establish 211, which will be used by all 30 United Way chapters in Kansas.

Building and setting up the center will cost about $532,000, said Delane Butler, United Way spokesman. The organization has already raised about $425,000.

Wichita's center will be in the basement of the United Way building, 245 N. Water. The lower-level location should make it resistant to tornadoes and other natural disasters, Hanrahan said.

He said United Way officials in Kansas have been thinking about establishing the system for a couple of years, but the Florida hurricanes last year persuaded them to act.

In Florida's Lee County, which is similar in population to Wichita, 211 took about 60,000 calls that would otherwise have been made to 911, Hanrahan said.

"It helped free up 911 for those life-and-death calls," he said.

The new system will also allow United Way staffers to track the types of requests they are receiving. So if people from one county keep calling about the same need, officials can meet that need more quickly, Hanrahan said.

"211 is going to be of immense assistance to the community," he said.

Reach Dana Strongin at 268-6298 or dstrongin@wichitaeagle.com.