FCC Approves New Phone Number for Social Services

By DEBRA E. BLUM

People looking for a food bank, an after-school program, or other health and social services soon will be able to dial only three numbers on their telephones for help — 211.

Under a plan approved last month by the Federal Communications Commission, the dialing code 211 will provide direct access to organizations offering advice on where to find services such as counseling, legal assistance, and crisis intervention.

Such information and referral services have long been available, but the numbers to reach them vary from place to place, and are typically seven or 10 digits long. The commission’s move clears the way for information providers everywhere to request the 211 number.

According to the United Way of America, which sponsors and runs many of the information and referral services around the country, information providers answer more than 50 million calls each year. The providers assess callers’ needs and determine what charity, government agency, or other organization would be able to help.

In two areas that already use the 211 number — Connecticut and the Atlanta region — the volume of calls received by the United Way information services is 40 percent higher than it was when the services used 10-digit numbers.