United Way of Dane County announced the release of a mobile application option for their 211 services after an 18-month project. The service provides a listening ear and a helping hand to people without steady access to food, healthcare, housing, addiction treatment and more, according to United Way Director of Community Engagement and Communications Ashley Manthei.
The 211 hotline service is an exhaustive source for information pertaining to both local and national resources and services throughout the country, providing assistance from thousands of local experts 24/7, 365 days a year.
The release of the app is intended to streamline and facilitate users’ experience with accessing the service’s resources, Manthei said.
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“Traditionally, in order to get assistance from 211 you would have to call or email or use our website,” Manthei said. “In an effort to make this critical community resource more accessible, we developed the 211 Wisconsin app. So really, what it’s meant to do is make sure that those resources are right at the fingertips of people when they need them the most.”
Though developed specifically for Dane County, UWDC extends the 211 services to Columbia, Sauk, Green, Rock and Lafayette counties, Manthei said.
UWDC has additionally installed multiple tablets and kiosks at various community centers for people to use if they don’t have access to a personal cell phone or mobile device. The launching of the app is intended to both optimize and broaden access to the 211 services, Manthei said.
“When you download the app, there’s a few different ways you can use it,” Manthei said. “It will ask for your zip code to figure out where you are, so that it can geolocate you to several resources in the area. You can choose to use the app anonymously to just browse our services or you can register to create a favorites list of certain resources that you need specifically.”
The application is straightforward and intuitive, with no complex features blocking the access to help. It’s meant for everybody to use with little questions. And when questions undoubtedly arise, the call center is always available to answer them, Manthei said.
Last year, Dane County’s local 211 call center made over 41,000 referrals to community resources and spent more than 170,000 minutes serving clients on the phone, through text messages and by sending emails, according to Manthei.
“This is a way to extend that capacity,” Manthei said. “But I will say that we know the need in the community for help far outweighs the resources available, we can only offer help as long as the help is there. While we are encouraging people to download the app and to take advantage of this service in our community, we’re also encouraging people who are able to donate so that we can continue to provide those services to people when they need them.”
