February 11 is National 2-1-1 Day

Non-emergency information available by dialing 2-1-1

Carson City, NV - February 10, 2017

Nevada 2-1-1 will have an Information Table at the Legislature Building on Friday, February 10, from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM with staff available for interviews.  Media may also contact Financial Guidance Center Chief Operating Officer Christie O’Melia in Las Vegas for interviews at (702) 364-0344 or via email at Christie@FinancialGuidanceCenter.org or Steve George, Outreach Specialist at (775) 230-3302 or at Steve@FinancialGuidanceCenter.org

Designated National 2-1-1 Day, February 11th is a day to inform people across the nation about non-emergency health and human services information and referrals available by contacting 2-1-1.  The free, confidential service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year long.  The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) designated 2-1-1 as the nonemergency number in 2000, partly as a way to alleviate the burden on 9-1-1 call centers, enabling operators to focus on life or death crisis situations.  The FCC further charged each state with developing its own 2-1-1 network.

In the Silver State, Nevada 2-1-1, administered by the nonprofit Financial Guidance Center, with oversight by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), has a database that includes information on 762 public and private agencies, 1,934 programs, and 3,059 services. Call Specialists are trained to assist people in navigating the sometimes confusing maze of finding the right agency for the desired services. Nevada 2-1-1’s database includes information on local healthcare, housing, food, utility, transportation, and childcare assistance, among other resources.

Michele Johnson, President and CEO of Financial Guidance Center, the agency selected by DHHS to administer the statewide Nevada 2-1-1 program reports, “Our role as administer is to, in part, ensure a comprehensive, current, and relevant database is available for our Call Specialists to serve Nevadans.  With more than 10,000 incoming telephone calls each month, we work tirelessly to ensure we have knowledge of the resources that can best support our caller’s needs.” 

Nevada 2-1-1 also serves as a disaster response Call Center during natural or mandated emergencies/disasters when called into action by the State of Nevada or an individual county. 

During the recent flooding that took place in Washoe County and in other Northern Nevada communities, Nevada 2-1-1 handled more than 1,500 non-emergency calls from people seeking information about sandbag locations, road and school closures, available shelters for people and animals, and community-based assistance. “Nevada 2-1-1’s role in responding to the January flooding in Northern Nevada demonstrated the importance of having a toll free, 24/7 easy to remember number dedicated to quickly answering the concerns of people in the affected,” said Jennifer White, DHHS 2-1-1 Statewide Coordinator.

In Nevada, individuals across the state can dial 2-1-1, text their zip code to 898211, or visit www.Nevada211.org to find non-emergency health and human services information.

Contact

Christie O’Melia
Financial Guidance Center Chief Operating Officer
(702) 364-0344