Dialing for help

Call it a modest success story for Missouri.

In its first year of statewide operation, Missouri’s 211 service has handled 87,000 questions, including how to find job counseling, disaster assistance, health services, mortgage assistance, and even food and shelter.

The program, underwritten by the United Way and the Missouri Foundation for Health, was begun in the Kansas City area in 2006 and expanded statewide last year. It hooks people up with local and statewide service providers.

Although geared toward social service needs, it can help in other ways. More than 3,000 people called this summer wanting to pitch in to address flooding.

Of those 87,490 calls over the last year, 3,200 were about help with mortgages, 1,700 were about the earned income tax credit free tax-preparation sites, and more than 600 were for disaster assistance.

We embraced this initiative in this space when the United Way rolled it out in the Kansas City area. It’s good to see expansion and progress.