Texas Call Center Failures Lead to Frustrated and Hungry Families After Storm

The recent winter weather in Texas caused a slew of problems, including power outages and lost food due to those outages. The state Health and Human Services Department manages a 2-1-1 Texas service, designed to help residents with storm assistance and provide them with access to food and other benefits. But 2-1-1 callers are complaining that they can't get through when they attempt to dial the 2-1-1 call center.

"It's frustrating," Rose Soil told Fox San Antonio. Soil has been trying to get through to 2-1-1 to replace food lost during the historic winter storm. "They're claiming they're going to replace those things, when? The kids have to eat every day. There's a phone number available, but when you call the phone number you can't get in touch with anyone. It's not like I'm calling and I'm on hold for an hour, no, no, no. My call can't even go through. At 8:01 am it's busy, at 8:15 am it’s busy at 8:45 am. 'We're sorry your call can't be completed at this time.' "

According to Fox San Antonio, the busy signals and dropped calls to the 2-1-1 call center happened because of a system failure that has been fixed. But the center is still experiencing high call volume, leading to more busy signals and delays.

A note on the 2-1-1 website states, "2-1-1 Texas is experiencing intermittent technical difficulties. We are aware of the problem and are working to restore service as quickly as possible. For information on winter storm assistance from Texas Health and Human Services, including buying hot food and SNAP benefits replacement, click here."

Alternative help is available, at least for San Antonio residents. Roland Martinez, who works with the city's Department of Human Services, said residents may call the San Antonio Emergency Resource Center by dialing 311 or 210-207-6000. Call center workers there are available to help SNAP recipients with food replacement, as well as to assist with other issues like repair for frozen and burst pipes.

"They're there, they're trained, they're committed to being the benefits navigator helping with various sources," said Martinez.

Families immediately in need of food may also call the San Antonio Food Bank hotline at 210-431-8326. It is available 24 hours a day, with food distribution sites available throughout the area. Volunteers will also deliver food if necessary.

Edited by Maurice Nagle