Spotlight on 2-1-1 Riverside County

Got 2-1-1?

2008-12-02T08:21:00.000-08:00

Recently I was listening to a news broadcast on a radio station as I drove home from work. One of the stories being read dealt with the problem of illegal dog fighting gambling taking place in a neighboring county. As upsetting as I found the prospect of people watching animals fight to the death for their financial gain, I was even more riveted by the closing line of the story. To paraphrase it said, "if you are aware of illegal animal fights taking place, call 2-1-1."

More and more agencies, programs, departments, and officials are beginning to see the value in utilizing 2-1-1 as a resource for disseminating and gathering information for their particular concerns from pre-screening callers for government assistance programs, to assessing candidates for clinical trials, to giving disaster response information, to helping register participants for special events. The list can go on!

I encourage you to consider how the services of a fully-staffed and trained call center can make your life easier in these challenging times. Only by working together can we hope to make the most of current circumstances. So ask yourself, "Got 2-1-1?"

Ask not what________can do for you...

2008-09-30T08:49:00.000-07:00

Homelessness is one of the most challenging issues faced by modern society. Many times people are tempted to either take drastic measures (without considering the consequences) or to do nothing (seemingly ignoring the human need) because of the scope of this urban problem. Some of the responses that illustrate these tendencies are as follows:
1. "Just make them move from our urban renewal site. They make people uneasy!"
2. "Just make more shelters for them...but not in MY backyard."
3. "There's nothing I can do, so why even try?"
4. "Someone else will take care of it."

There is another possibility. To paraphrase what John F. Kennedy urged us, "ask what you can do for your [neighbor]." Volunteerism may well be the way we can address the complex issues of homelessness. Everyday people helping others in need can make the scarce resources stretch farther, help more people, get people back on their feet. Where can you go to find out how and where to help? Keep checking back over the next several posts for some ideas from the Volunteer Center of Riverside County.

Operation SafeHouse

2008-07-31T10:23:00.000-07:00

What would you do if you encountered a teen that had run away from home? What if he/she asked you to help him/her off the streets? How could you best help him or her? Thankfully in Riverside County we have an agency that helps teens and families in situations just like this.

Operation SafeHouse, with Community Support, provides Emergency Shelter, Intervention and Outreach Services to Runaway, Homeless and Other Youth in Crisis. SafeHouse offers at-risk youth positive alternatives to becoming victims of the streets.

You can find more information on Operation Safehouse by calling their main number in Riverside (951) 351-4418, contacting their Coachella Valley number (760) 343-3211, or visiting their website: www.operationsafehouse.org. The agency’s e-mail address is safeplace@operationsafehouse.org.

FAQ #2 — Since you're part of the county, could you put in a good word for me?

2008-07-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

2-1-1 Riverside County is a service of the Volunteer Center of Riverside County. Upon hearing this many people assume this means that we are a county agency. Sometimes a caller needing a specific service will ask us to use our influence to assist him/her in some way. It is then that we have to explain that our agency is actually a private non-profit. We have no ties to the county (though we often refer people to county departments). This means that if a community member or caller is frustrated with some particular service provider within the county, the only power we have is to listen and document. We cannot actually hold any county agency accountable. This also means that if people have concerns about 2-1-1, taking these concerns to the County will not be very useful either. Our position as an outside agency allows 2-1-1 to advocate for the public by giving people the best possible information available to us. After all, our mission statement reads:
2-1-1 Riverside County: The primary link between our neighbors in need and the quality of life they strive to achieve.

So, 2-1-1 is going to pay my light bill, right?

2008-07-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Thus begins our FAQ section. Second only to what we are, the most common question is how 2-1-1 is going to provide services. The answer is that we are in the empowerment business. By that I mean, that when 2-1-1 Riverside County provides Information and Referral to resources in Riverside County, we are attempting to empower our callers. The old truism states that "Knowledge is power." Our aim is to give our callers contact information for agencies that provide the services they need. Ultimately we strive to help our caller become more self-sufficient so that if she/he has a similar need again, she/he will know how to find the help she/he needs. So it is not just information and referral, we are empowering the residents of Riverside County to seek and find the help they need to become stronger, more efficient members of society. If you are feeling the urge to say "Wow," don't let me stop you!

The Heat is On!

2008-06-26T13:05:00.000-07:00

I know it's been awhile since my last post...mea culpa. Before we get into the Frequently Asked Questions, I thought I'd highlight a valuable service provided by a couple of agencies in our county.

Here in Riverside County we have extreme heat warnings during the summer. During these extended periods of heat senior citizens, young children, and people with certain health challenges are particularly susceptible to heat-related problems. To compound the difficulties many people in this vulnerable group lack the financial resources to run their air conditioning/ fan(s) sufficiently to protect them. In response to this situation, two agencies in Riverside County have established Cool Centers in which affected individuals can obtain relief from the heat. The City of Riverside has a list of 17 Cool Centers throught the city of Riverside. Community Action Partnership has a list of 44 Cool Centers throughout the county.

In an effort to serve the community, 2-1-1 Riverside County has compiled a list of all the Cool Centers in our county. We have created a document known as a focus page with this list. It has hyperlinks with further information on each Cool Center such as hours of operation, eligibility, address and phone number. We hope that the information will be another tool in protecting the health and well-being of the most vulnerable members of our society. We invite you to visit our focus page via the following link (looks like a line but really is a link):

Cool Centers 2008

If the hyperlink is not visible, just use the Cool Center 2008 link in our favorite links section on the right of this blog.

Until next we blog.

How it works

2008-06-10T13:59:00.000-07:00

From any landline in Riverside County (and some wireless providers as well), community members can dial 2-1-1 toll-free or (800) 464-1123 when they have a need. On the other end a number of trained Information/Referral Specialists expertly match the caller's need with the best resources in the caller's area. The goal is not to become a clone of 4-1-1, but rather to ascertain how best to help the caller receive what she/he needs. Sometimes in asking questions the Information/Referral Specialist can discover a need the caller had not identified initially and help meet it as well.

Our next post will highlight some of the frequently asked questions we receive at 2-1-1.

What is it?

2008-06-02T13:14:00.000-07:00

2-1-1 is a national program created jointly the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (AIRS) and the United Way of America to provide information and referral to people in need of non-emergency, basic human services such as food, shelter and childcare. The program was intended to relieve 9-1-1 of non-emergencies in order to focus on emergency calls. CAIRS (California Alliance of Information & Referral Systems) is the state affiliate of AIRS.

In February 2004 an application was submitted to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) by the Volunteer Center of Riverside County (VCRC) and accepted on August 4, 2005. Through the continued hard work of those committed to the vision of 2-1-1, VCRC formally launched 2-1-1 Riverside County on July 1, 2005.

2-1-1 is a three-digit phone number designated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), reserved for information and referral. By dialling 2-1-1 callers will speak to a trained specialist who can provide information and referrals regarding health, human and social services 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Our next post will be less formal and begin to highlight:

Different aspects of 2-1-1's service to Riverside County residents
Some of the programs and agencies in our Database
Frequently-asked questions
Upcoming events