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2-1-1: Help starts here

Dial 2-1-1 for free, 24-hour community, health and social services information.  Like 9-1-1 for emergency service, 2-1-1 has been set aside by the Federal Communications Commission for the public to easily access community information.  Callers receive personalized information from a live call specialist.  Call specialists can also help callers find out where to go to volunteer or donate to their favorite cause.

A community-wide service

Every corner of the community is touched by 2-1-1, from the businessperson who uses 2-1-1 to help an employee find drug treatment, to the family who calls 2-1-1 about financial scams against an elderly grandparent.  Military families use 2-1-1 to contact their various service branch's family service hotlines.  Law enforcement agencies see scarce resources freed up when inappropriate calls to 9-1-1 decline because the public has another easily-remembered number to call for non-emergency needs.

National three-digit number

Though only introduced in 1997, 2-1-1 dialing already reaches 192 million people in 41 states. Well over 65 percent of the country has access to 2-1-1.  (For more information, see www.211.org.)  In California, eight counties are currently operating 2-1-1 service.  More than half of all Californians have 2-1-1 service available.  Almost 2 million people were added when San Bernardino County joined that list in September 2006.

Online, by phone, or in print

2-1-1's powerful search engine is available online for people who want to search its service database themselves.  Users will also be able to look up services in 2-1-1's published directory, Community Connection, or in our specialized publications.  For those who dial 2-1-1 by phone, calls are answered by call specialists who are bilingual in Spanish and have access to other languages through a professional interpreters service.

Centralized disaster hotline

The October 2003 firestorm the need to establish a centralized information service like 2-1-1 in the San Bernardino County region; a need which was emphasized by the role that 2-1-1 played in responding to the Katrina disaster.  Residents and public officials are painfully aware of the need to be better prepared for the next disaster.  In times of disaster, 2-1-1 can be mobilized as a central point for disseminating public information.  After the danger has passed, 2-1-1 helps victims secure recovery assistance.