Social-Services Hotline Sought in Maryland
October 11, 2006 | Read Time: 1 minute
The United Way of Central Maryland will sponsor a social-services hotline in Baltimore for 10 months with $900,000 in the hopes of convincing the state to implement a permanent hotline, reports The Baltimore Sun.
As of today, dialing 2-1-1 will put Baltimore residents in touch with phone counselors who can assist with both simple questions—such as, “Do I qualify for food stamps?”—and crises, as in the case of a woman who needed to reach her caseworker because she was being evicted from her hotel room over Columbus Day weekend.
The 2-1-1 program is modeled after the 9-1-1 and 4-1-1 programs and operates in 38 states, Washington, DC, and Puerto Rico. During Hurricane Katrina, the 2-1-1 number took thousands of calls from New Orleans residents who needed shelter and food, freeing up 9-1-1 for acute emergencies.
The United Way of Central Maryland estimated it would cost the state $4.6-million to run its own 2-1-1 center.
