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Kent State blown out in second half, loses to Temple 47-13
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Will Health Care Reform Pass?
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Health Care Financing Reform: (69) The Brookings Institute Study on "Bending the Curve" – Four General Strategies
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Silverdome Potentially SOLD!
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George is looking for a Thanksgiving buffet in Akron.
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A Random Rant on Testing
Akron Gamer:
Nintendo's Mario endures even as games come and go
Free service gives referrals to needy, finds everyday solutions to problems
By Betty Lin-Fisher
Beacon Journal business writer
Published on Sunday, Feb 24, 2008
Who is my councilman?
My baby has had a temperature for two days. I am receiving food stamps, but I work part time. I cannot afford to pay emergency room fees.
I am divorced with three children and my landlord is evicting me because I can't afford to pay the rent.
What is the number for time and temperature?
We need food and a place to stay.
I need help to pay my gas bill.
I don't want to live anymore. I just want to kill myself!
These wide-ranging questions and scenarios are just a few of the types of calls that a local community information and referral service answers every day, around the clock, year-round.
In many areas around the country, including in Summit County, these free services are referred to as 2-1-1 service, so named for the numbers a person can dial to reach the service.
These types of services have been around since the 1930s in some parts of the country, but grew in the 1960s and 1970s, said Richard Stahl, president and chief executive officer of Summit County's service, called Info Line.
In 2000, the group of referral services petitioned and received approval from the Federal Communications Commission to set aside the 2-1-1 number for the service. In many areas, those numbers now work, though not in all.
There are also some instances, like within a business phone system, that you may not be able to pick up the phone and dial 2-1-1, but may have to call a different number to reach the service (I have those numbers listed next to this story).
The social service agencies are usually funded by donations, grants and some public dollars, often putting their services in jeopardy each year.
A group of nine information and referral specialists staff the phones at Info Line 24 hours a day year-round. Typically, the staff takes 70,000 calls a year.
They go through an intensive six-week training and must pass four tests before they pick up a phone line.
''On any given day, you don't know what call you're going to be picking up,'' said Susan Pierson, vice president of services for Info Line.
It could be a question that's fairly easy to answer, such as giving a phone number. But it also could be a person who is depressed and wants to commit suicide, or a battered woman calling for help.
While not professional counselors, the information specialists have to be trained to handle those calls and get the caller the right help. (It's also for this reason that we're not identifying the specialists by name since there could be confidentiality or sensitivity issues, but did get permission to take a photo of one.) No calls are traced and the service is not mandated to report calls or people to authorities.
The specialists also have to have a keen skill for picking up on things in a phone conversation when they don't have the benefit of seeing someone's facial expressions or other clues in a face-to-face situation, said Pierson.
''When you're a voice over the phone, it's very subtle things you listen for. When do you push, or when are you sympathetic — and you do it in a nonjudgmental manner,'' she said.
It's because of those skills that these folks are not just telephone operators, said Stahl.
''We can work out solutions that are totally different than what you called for,'' he said.
Someone may call to get information on rent assistance, but during the course of the conversation, the specialist may be able to also help them get food assistance and medical help.
Often, by the time people call Info Line, they will have called multiple other places — sometimes as many as four or five — often not getting the information they need and growing more frustrated.
''Call us first. We'll help you sort it out so you don't have to make all those calls,'' said Pierson.
Much of Info Line's database is also online at http://www.211summit.org but Pierson says sometimes it still takes a live person to help you sort your situation to find the correct information.
The service mostly refers callers to government, nonprofit agencies or charitable services. It is not like directory assistance where it will give you numbers of for-profit businesses, like a paid electrician, for instance. But if you qualify for assistance with a service, they may be able to refer you to an agency that can help you get to that electrician.
Info Line also helps area nonprofit agencies use their time more efficiently by answering referral calls for them or directing them to the correct place.
And some agencies — particularly food banks — use Info Line to serve as a central clearinghouse to refer people to the correct food bank and keep track of who has received food from which agency.
Info Line runs a separate emergency food line number, 330-376-4850.
The phone service is only one of Info Line's many services. They also have a Senior Info Line, 330-374-0333, that is funded by the Area Agency on Aging and has people who specialize in senior citizen issues.
Here's contact information for 2-1-1 services or similar services in our five-county region. Some agencies also have their databases online:
Summit County: 2-1-1 or 330-376-6660 or http://www.211.summit.org
Senior Info Line: 330-374-0333.
Emergency Food Line: 330-376-4850.
Stark County: 2-1-1 or 330-491-9997.
Medina County: 2-1-1 or 888-330-4211 or http://www.211medina.org
Portage County: 2-1-1 or 330-297-4636 or 800-961-0191.
Wayne County: Cannot dial 2-1-1 yet; call 800-247-9473 or 330-263-6363.
Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at
330-996-3724 or blinfisher@
thebeaconjournal.com.
Get the full article here.
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