MERCER COUNTY — United Way of Mercer County officials today announced the local availability of 2-1-1, an emergency helpline that aims to connect people with problems to the right agency 24 hours a day.

Partnering with 2-1-1 Southwest, an area that covers 11 counties, residents who are facing everything from a housing crisis to a financial loss to utility issues can dial 2-1-1 and immediately be given information from a list of 200 agencies that may be available to provide help, according to James L. Micsky Jr., executive director of the United Way of Mercer County.

While the program has been “soft-launched” for several months, not many people locally are aware of it, said Kevin Boozel, project manager of 2-1-1 Southwest. The helpline has been in place for years across the country, with 82 percent of the population having access and in July 2011 was launched in Allegheny, Armstrong, Butler, Fayette and Westmoreland counties. Service started locally in January and operators reported 45 calls in the last month, Boozel said.

“The calls are generally housing- and utility-related, but resources are there to help people find food, or medication or whatever their particular problem is,” he said.

Calls are routed to a center in Allegheny County where operators know immediately the location of the caller in Mercer County and a screen with all available resources comes up, Boozel said.

“We are able to give people the right information immediately instead of having them call 10 different agencies who might not have what they need,” he added.

Call takers are also trained to distinguish between a medical emergency and a health and human service emergency. If the problem is medical or something that requires a 9-1-1 call instead, the caller is transferred, Boozel said.

Micsky said the Shenango Valley Young Professionals group has been going over local service provider data, updating contact information and agency services, so that 2-1-1 operators have the most up-to-date information.

At one time, he said, the United Way used to publish a list of agencies and services but “as soon as it came off the press it was outdated,” he said. Agencies can update their own information directly to 2-1-1, he added.

Many areas of the country, particularly those hit with natural disasters like Hurricane Sandy and the blizzard in New England already make use of the 2-1-1 system, Boozel said.

It also exists for people who have other difficulties, but not necessarily a disaster. He cited as an example the case of a person who was facing financial difficulty after his hours at work were cut.

“He can call us on the way home, because now he’s worried about how he’ll meet the mortgage. We can send right to his smart phone a list of agencies that might be able to help,” he said.

Micsky said one of the first bits of information he wants available on the line is the dates and times for kindergarten registration.

“So many people don’t register their kids. They don’t know where to go or when. By calling 2-1-1 we can tell them immediately,” he said.

Services provided by the United Way agencies are not necessarily free, though they may be available at a reduced or sliding scale fee, he said.

Micsky also cautioned that 2-1-1 doesn’t mean there are any new or additional services available.

“For those who have already been in the system, dealing with the various agencies, it doesn’t mean there is something else out there. 2-1-1 is an information resource aimed at making access easier,” he said.

Eventually, as data is collected from the calls, services can be tailored geographically, Micsky said. “It could lead to other programs, depending on the needs we’re seeing.”



To join 2-1-1 Southwest, it costs $5,000 for three years. Grove City United Way is picking up $1,500 of that cost, Micsky said.