Basic Needs Top 2-1-1 Calls During the Past Year |
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There were close to 10,000 calls (9,782 to be exact) to 2-1-1, the statewide information and referral service, from the Valley area during the last year. Those figures do not include an additional 435 calls made to the specialized 2-1-1 Chilcare services. The top service for which information was requested was utilities/heat with almost 1,500 calls during the period. That was almost double the 788 calls for outpatient mental health services and 15% of all the calls received. The current economic difficulties are reflected in this year's statistics as other top calls for assistance included housing and shelter, public assistance programs and food.
The 2-1-1 data does not include calls made to 2-1-1 Childcare which is a separate service related to child care issues which also attracts a large volume of calls that are reported separately.
The numbers in the Valley were fairly consistent with the state wide numbers where there were 482,301 requests and utilities/heat topped the list with 13.6% of the requests. The major differences were in outpatient mental health care which ranked second in the Valley and fifth in the state and public assistance programs which was the fourth most requested service in the Valley and eight most requested in the state.
| Top 25 Valley Service Requests | # of Requests | % of All Requests |
| Utilities/Heat | 1,470 | 15.0% |
| Outpatient Mental Health Care | 788 | 8.1% |
| Housing/Shelter | 692 | 7.1% |
| Public Assistance Programs | 664 | 6.8% |
| Information Services | 637 | 6.5% |
| Food | 568 | 5.8% |
| Substance Abuse Services | 539 | 5.5% |
| Financial Assistance | 503 | 5.1% |
| Health Supportive Services | 498 | 5.1% |
| Legal Services | 486 | 5.0% |
| Individual and Family Support Services | 297 | 3.0% |
| Personal/Household Goods | 223 | 2.3% |
| Employment and Training Programs | 205 | 2.1% |
| Tax Organizations and Services | 189 | 1.9% |
| Consumer Assistance and Protection | 142 | 1.5% |
| Transportation | 140 | 1.4% |
| Consumer Complaints | 133 | 1.4% |
| Social Insurance Programs | 121 | 1.2% |
| Law Enforcement Agencies | 118 | 1.2% |
| Community Services | 113 | 1.2% |
| Holiday Assistance | 94 | 1.0% |
| Legal Assistance | 88 | 0.9% |
| Consumer Regulation | 84 | 0.9% |
| Outpatient Health Facilities | 84 | 0.9% |
| Psychiatric Support Services | 83 | 0.8% |
2-1-1 is a free community service administered by the United Way of Connecticut. It is supported by the State of Connecticut and Connecticut United Ways. You can call 2-1-1 to get information, or to seek help in a crisis. It is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Simply dial 2-1-1 or 1-800-203-1234 any time of day or night.
