2-1-1 Service to Be Launched in Greater Capital Region

Under the auspices of the United Way, a new resource for accessing community services is slated to go on-line in the next couple of weeks.
According to an article in the April 7th Albany Times Union, the United Way and the Family and Children’s Service of the Capital Region have teamed to offer a service that by dialing 2-1-1, the 1.2 million residents of the 12-county greater capital region (Albany, Columbia, Fulton, Greene, Hamilton, Montgomery, Rensselaer, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Warren, and Washington) will have easy access to a database of agencies and organizations offering assistance in a wide variety of areas, including housing and food assistance, unemployment and job training, legal and financial services, and health and mental health assistance, as well as care for the elderly and children.

The 2-1-1 service is available in 41 states and throughout much of New York State. There are 10 regions established in New York for 2-1-1 and all are operational other than the north country (serving Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Jefferson, Lewis, and St. Lawrence counties), two in central New York (serving Cortland, Herkimer, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, and Oswego counties) and the southeast region of the state (serving Broome, Chenango, Delaware, Otsego, and Tioga counties).

While the 2-1-1 project initially received funding from the state, under the current economic climate, the United Way increased its efforts to secure donations from private and corporate contributors in order to properly train their call specialists.

Lou Manuta