On Saturday the Lycoming County United Way joins the Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania, United Way of Pennsylvania and the entire PA 211 network to celebrate PA 211 Day and the important role that 211 plays to provide connections to help with everything from housing to higher utility costs. United Way and PA 211 are also unveiling a new chat translation tool at www.pa211.org which allows customers to interact with 211 in 75 different languages. To chat online with a 211 resource navigator, visit www.pa211.org, start a search for resources, and select the option to chat.

211 is the free, confidential, 24/7/365 telephone service that connects Pennsylvanians with all the health and human services in their area. PA 211 also offers individuals the ability to search for assistance or chat with a resource navigator online at www.pa211.org.

“PA 211 strives to be the first, most essential resource to all Pennsylvanians who need help. If you aren’t sure where to start, begin with 211,” said Sean Gerow, CEO of Family Service Association of NEPA.

In 2022, PA 211 answered 254,796 unique calls, with more than 325,000 services requested by callers. In addition, 19,247 Pennsylvanians sought help via text, and 3,176 utilized our newly launched web chat, and nearly 929,000 web sessions were accessed using pa211.org. In northeastern PA, Family Service Association handled over 85,000 calls that included information and referral and crisis related services to the 17-county area it serves. Across all communication channels, PA 211 served well over one million Pennsylvanians, exceeding the record previously set from March 2020 through December 2021.

PA 211 continues to offer the best real-time data on needs of individuals in the Commonwealth. PA 211 Counts (https://pa.211counts.org) is a dashboard to understand these needs in counties, zip codes, legislative districts, and regions across the state.

In Lycoming, Sullivan and Tioga counties, the top needs continue to be centered around housing and utility assistance,” said Ron Frick, President of the Lycoming County United Way which serves all three counties. “PA 211 continues to be the one place people can call to get the help they need without making multiple calls.”

As an example, a 31-year-old caller, called PA 211NE/Help Line seeking assistance with her electric bill as she received a shutoff notice. The 211 caseworker was able to determine that electric is the main heating source and through further conversation the caller recently had hours cut back at work. The caller was not have any children and is not a veteran. These questions are asked to determine if there are other possible resources available. The caller had not applied for Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP).

The caseworker gave the caller two options on how to apply to LIHEAP and provided a referral to the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission to see if they could assist with the shutoff. Utility assistance programs were explained to the caller and it was suggested they contact their utility to see if they might be able to enroll in their assistance programs. The caller reflected that they were pleased that they were able to get so much information in one telephone call when prior to calling 211they were unsure of how or where to get help.

“Thanks to our local United Way partners, several foundations and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania legislature, PA 211 is a priority and a strong public and private partnership helping more and more Pennsylvanians every day” said Gerow.