211 call center complements Sonoma disaster plan

Incoming calls for help with health and human services have doubled since an unmemorable 7-digit phone number was re-launched in February simply as 211. The free countywide service connects those in need with assistance programs for food, clothing, shelter, counseling, health care and more.
“Sonoma County has 540 agencies, with 2,400 different service sites,” said Bill Myatt, 211 program director for Sonoma County. “The level of service support is overwhelming,” but sometimes hard to navigate. “Without 211, it would take nine calls to find what you needed. Now it’s two.”
Available 24 hours a day, the service promises a fast, frustration-free way to get assistance, with no more bad leads or wrong numbers.
Myatt describes it as the non-emergency partner to 911. “When you call 911, it’s ‘I need a cop or an ambulance right now.’ With 211, it’s ‘I need help. My family needs help.’”
The first question from the call specialist is, “Where are you calling from?’” Myatt explained. ”Our database then sorts services according to that specific area.” Santa Rosa now generates about two-thirds of the calls. Sonoma is fifth on the list.
A national initiative of the United Way, 211 systems cover 85 percent of California. The public-private partnership includes the Sonoma County, which provides office space, the Community Foundation of Sonoma, and the Volunteer Center of Sonoma County, which staffs the phone lines with volunteers.
Toni Fitzpatrick of the volunteer center said that call volume has doubled, to about 50 calls a day, since the existing service officially became part of the 211 network. “When it was seven digits, you really had to look to get the number. Now it’s easy to remember.”
Fernandez said prime topics right now are food, foreclosure and shelter. “We came along at a good time,” Myatt said. “We’re being contacted by people who a year ago would not have needed help.”
The call center is staffed by volunteer call specialists from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After-hours calls are routed to a regional call center that has complete access to the Sonoma County database.
Myatt told the Sonoma Disaster Council last week that 211 can play an important role as a referral service during an emergency. While government services are well coordinated, he said, 211 will maintain and provide information from the non-profit, volunteer and charity sector. “In case of earthquake or other emergency, 211 will cover our disaster needs.”
City Manager Linda Kelly, disaster council chair, spoke of the 211 system’s excellent routing system, which in case of local breakdowns or overloads would send calls to back-up call centers. During Louisiana hurricanes, for example, 211 calls were routed to Los Angles and San Francisco.
Kelly also commented that the 211 system helps keep 911 lines open and available. Prior to the 211 call centers going live, only 35,000 out of 200,000 calls to 911 were real emergencies. “We can’t be reliant on calling 911 for everything,” she said.
Though not referenced in the Sonoma Disaster Plan, 211 is a complement to the updated document that was recently endorsed by the Sonoma City Council. The revision was made to align with county and state disaster protocols, Kelly said, and to show that the city is paying attention to the changing realities of disaster preparedness.