2`11 helpline is back: ‘They just needed help and they needed it immediately’

joliet — Crisis Line of Will and Grundy Counties closed operations Nov. 30, 2020, at a time when need for its services was high in Will County.

For 44 years, the nonprofit provided information and referral, telephone counseling, support and reassurance calls. It also was accredited in suicide prevention and intervention through the American Association of Suicidology.

However, Crisis Line had also experienced years of financial hardship and declining revenues and resources, resulting in logistical challenges.

[ Another casualty of 2020: Crisis Line of Will and Grundy Counties is shutting down ]

Enter the 211 Helpline, which United Way of Will County launched June 1. The 211 Helpline a “free, multi-lingual, confidential, 24-hour information and referral service that provides a central access point to health and human services in Will County,” according to United Way.

“People are already calling; already been referrals and connections made and appointments set for residents,” Kamala Martinez, president and CEO of United Way of Will County, said.

Residents in need can access a database of 445 agencies and 2,130 services based in Will County by calling 211, texting 898211 or visiting uwwill.org/211.

Available services include those in the areas of behavioral health, crisis services, substance use, clothing, household goods, COVID-19, disaster, environment, public health and safey, domestic violence, sexual assault, employment, education, family and individual life, food, health, medical, dental, housing, homeless, law enforcement, legal aid, justice system, reentry services, LGBTQ, minority services, money management, community/information services, older adults, disability services, rent assistance, utility assistance, financial assistance, transportation, veterans/military and volunteer opportunities.

“We knew there was a huge service gap when the crisis line closed, and there was no one place for the calls to go,” Martinez said. “Those service gaps increased the burden on our 911 system, and it increased the burden on our social services systems.”

The easiest way to access the 211 Helpline is by phone, where calls are answered “by a live human being” seven days a week, 365 days a year, Martinez said.

Or people can send a text to 898211 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. A live person will answer the text up to 4:30 p.m. After 4:30 p.m., a live person will respond the next day, she said.

Finally, people can access the database via the website. Simply select the services you need and add your town or zip code, Martinez said.

“We narrow it down to your municipality,” Martinez said. “You might be in Joliet, but we might have another caller from Bolingbrook who will need one closer. It’s based on your town and ZIP code.”

Martinez said United Way of Will County would monitor for gaps in services and resources.

“We know that transportation seems to be a problem in Will County for seniors and for folks who don’t have a car and need to get to work or get to chemo treatments,” Martinez said. “We see that as one of the opportunities United Way will be working on in the coming year.”

Martinez said United Way worked for more than a year to bring the 211 Helpline to Will County. Unlike the crisis line, the helpline strictly is an information and referral line, Martinez said.

In fact, The National Suicide Hotline will become 988 on July 1. The emergency line for fire, police and ambulance will remain 911, she said.

Crisis Line also had trained volunteers. The 211 Helpline has professionally trained staff at its call center, Martinez said.

“When I came here a year ago, I noticed we were taking a lot of calls from residents,” Martinez said. “And by the time the residents got to United Way, they might have tried three or four agencies before they came to us. By the time they got to United Way, they were already frustrated. They just needed help and they needed it immediately.”

Martinez said that’s why, shortly after she came to United Way of Will County in May 2021, United Way began working with Will County to partner on the 211 Helpline.

About 95% of the U.S. population has 211 Helpline coverage, Martinez said. She said Illinois lags in coverage. However, now that the 211 Helpline is available in Will County, coverage has increased from 36% to 42%, she said.

To make sure Will County residents know the 211 Helpline is availble, United Way has shared the message on social media, through email blasts, on digital billboards and through collaborating with the county and the Will County Health Department, Martinez said.

“We’re just glad to bring this program to the county for the residents,” Martinez said.