by Chiara Cameron
2-1-1 Director
Every year, 2-1-1 interacts with over 85,000 people, one-on-one, through phone calls, emails, or chats. Tens of thousands of others are served indirectly through web searches conducted by themselves or on their behalf by case managers, care coordinators, and other people who directly serve and assist them.
That’s a pretty big number when you think about it; it is roughly 8 percent of Utah’s population.
Daily, we find ourselves in the middle of other people’s stories. For one moment, we are part of their lives and they are part of ours. They are feeling things we have often felt, struggling with things we have struggled with, and we can relate.
We hear incredible stories every day:
We spoke with a woman, smart and determined, who has been living in the back of her van for three years, because no matter how hard she tried to work, she just couldn’t save enough to get an actual home.
There was a migrant from Afghanistan, filled with both sorrow and courage, facing the loss of a child (her only son and youngest of three children), and needing financial and emotional support.
Or, the man who was a single father to three girls, overwhelmed yet hopeful, who was wondering how his daughters would be cared for while he recovered from surgery.
And the disabled veteran, frustrated and isolated, who was looking for some legal support, and desperately needed someone to talk to about his personal struggles.
These are just a few of the thousands we talk to every week.
I know that sometimes in the chaos of the day, we forget that behind every one of those interactions is a person; a mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter, neighbor, or friend… someone just like us. They are people who are trying to live and progress… just like we are.
And because we understand what they need at the most human level, because they think, feel, choose, and change just like we do — we know what they need. We provide them three of the most priceless things any human can have in their possession; knowledge, information, and education.
Kofi Annan once said “Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress…” 2-1-1 is able to give callers the knowledge that possibilities exist, the information about how to access those possibilities, and the education needed to take the next step.
You can show your support for 2-1-1 today by taking action and letting your representatives know that 2-1-1 is a vital resource in our community!
Make your voice heard!
