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211 crisis hotline expected to start in February
(The Pantagraph (Bloomington, IL) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 6--BLOOMINGTON -- A statewide crisis information hot line is expected to be piloted in McLean, Livingston and DeWitt counties beginning in February.
After a delay of several months, the Illinois Department of Human Services anticipates that contracts with service providers will be signed so that the 211 pilot projects will begin next month, said department spokesman Tom Green.
The pilot program will mean that people with a social service or mental health crisis or question in McLean, Livingston and DeWitt counties -- as well as the Illinois sides of the St. Louis area and the Quad Cities -- will be able to get help or a referral to a local social service agency by calling 211.
If the pilots are successful, 211 could become available throughout Illinois in a year, Green said.
"I very much hope the pilots are up and running in February," responded Karen Zangerle, executive director of PATH (Providing Access To Help). Bloomington-based PATH will be piloting 211 in the three Central Illinois counties, while United Way of Greater St. Louis and United Way's Call for Help in the Quad Cities will run the other two pilots.
"I've been waiting a long time for 211," Zangerle said. PATH and United Way of McLean County have been working toward 211 for several years.
The free hotline allows people with a variety of social service needs -- from someone contemplating suicide to someone who needs help for their troubled teen -- to call 211 anytime to get the help they need.
"It (211) is an easily recognizable number to call for help," Zangerle said. "When people are in need, the question often is 'Where do we go for help?' This would get people connected to services in the most efficient manner possible.
"In 10 years, 211 will be as recognizable as 911," the emergency response number, she said.
The pilot programs were awarded in May and the pilots were expected to go live in early fall after negotiations with telephone companies and approval by the Illinois Commerce Commission. That work was completed. But the pilot startup was delayed as "contract issues" arose between the State of Illinois and the potential service providers, said Green, who declined to be more specific.
"The state does not have a lot of experience with 211," Zangerle said. "We're trying to work toward resolving those issues."
Because PATH and the other two providers already have ICC approval, as well as phone lines switched, volunteers and staff trained and call centers updated, people in McLean, Livingston and DeWitt counties and people from the other two areas who call 211 today will get through to a call center, Zangerle said. But, without a signed contract with the state, PATH and United Way can't market 211, she said.
Meanwhile, PATH's traditional hot line of (309) 827-4005 will remain in use, she said.
To see more of The Pantagraph, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.pantagraph.com.
Copyright (c) 2009, The Pantagraph, Bloomington, Ill.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
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