[June 22, 2009]

211 service use up from last year: However, fewer than 10 percent of county residents are using it

Jun 22, 2009 (Times-News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The 411 on Alamance County's 211 service? County residents still aren't using referral service as much as those who live in some other Tar Heel counties, but they are using it a lot more as of late.

So says Derek Steed, the chairman of the board of the United Way of Alamance County.

Use of the call-in and Internet service, which provides access to information about volunteer opportunities and local health and human service programs, doubled through the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period last year, Steed reported to the county commissioners recently.

Even so, fewer than 10 percent of Alamance County residents use the service, compared to a nearly 70 percent user rate in Rowan County and more than 40 percent in Lee County, Steed's sampling of call volume in 18 counties shows.

Of Alamance County's first-quarter calls, 42 percent had to do with "basic subsistence" issues like money for food, rent and utilities, and another 9 percent were "related to health care," Steed said.

The county United Way compared the call-in information with the agency's 2007 needs assessment that showed 63 percent of Alamance County residents had incomes below $50,000. For a family of four, a living annual wage is about $48,000, Steed said.

Such comparisons help "to show a little bit about where people are falling in that category," he said.

The United Way of North Carolina began implementing the service in 1999. It has since grown to cover about 63 percent of the state, Steed said.

The service began locally in June 2007 after the Burlington and Alamance County governments each chipped in 31 percent of the just over $8,150 in start-up costs.

Gibsonville covered another 6 percent, and the United Way paid the remaining 32 percent.

The United Way continues to pay $563 a month to the call center handling the calls, which is partly staffed by certified counselors, said Cindy Brady, the county's United Way president.

Like Steed, Brady and others at the United Way are trying to spread the word about the service, which can be accessed by dialing 211 or on the Web at www.

nc211.org "We initially did a marketing campaign, but people don't think about it until they need the information," Brady said.

"I wish it was being utilized more," Steed said to the commissioners. "I think as time goes on ... we'll see this utilization increase." In another development involving Steed, the county commissioners on Monday named the attorney an Alamance Community College trustee, choosing him to replace Sam Powell, who recently stepped down from the board of trustees, The board chose Steed over former Burlington Mayor Joe Barbour, former District 64 House candidate Celo Faucette, and Priscilla Holt Starling, the widow of former Burlington Councilman Don Starling.

The commissioners also reappointed ACC Trustee Richard Fisher for another term.

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