Calls For Help Jumped 1.4M During 2024
Calls for help to the 211 national response system jumped by 1.4 million during 2024 versus 2023, with help for housing, utilities and food being the leading areas for which people reached out. The 16.8 million calls averaged to 32 calls, texts, or online chats per minute. They resulted in more than 18 million hyperlocal referrals for assistance.
The 211 system is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week in 180 languages. Trained community resource specialists make referrals to programs and services from locally curated databases representing health and human services agencies and nonprofits in the callers’ communities.
People in need or who are looking for information for someone else call, text, email or web chat 211. United Way Worldwide (UWW) supports and helps provide 211 services which are accessible to approximately 99% of the U.S. population and all of Canada.
According to data from UWW, referrals for housing and utilities assistance have increased year-over-year since 2019, with the two needs accounting for nearly half (47%) of all 211 referrals during 2024. Housing referrals continue to increase, now at nearly double 2019 numbers and have increased 16% compared to 2022 data.
Recent data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development shows that the number of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. jumped 18% last year .
“With the release of this striking new data, the 211 network — one of the best barometers of community challenges in the country — reveals the extent to which millions of Americans and their families are struggling to meet their basic needs,” UWW President and CEO Angela F. Williams said via a statement. “At a moment when individuals and communities need more support, but national and local resources are uncertain, it’s vital to use these data to identify cross-sector solutions that will help our communities thrive.”
Utility assistance referrals increased 12% since 2022 and food assistance referrals, including access to food pantries, increased 5% from 2023. There was heavy volume of disaster referrals in North Carolina, California and Texas, according to the UWW data.
Early this year, trained 211 community resource specialists referred local residents and tourists to mental health services after tragedy struck New Orleans and helped renters and homeowners recover from the Los Angeles County wildfires. The community resource specialists make referrals to programs and services from locally curated databases, containing comprehensive community resource information regularly updated by professional 211 staff with close ties to health and human services agencies and nonprofit organizations in their community.
There are nearly 200 call centers across the country, 80% of which are operated or funded in part by local United Way organizations and United Way state associations. There are more than 2,000 community resource specialists who provide assistance, according to UWW.