Information, Referral and Volunteer Advocacy Program

The number 2-1-1 has been available to the residents of Mason and Oceana Counties since April 2008. For people who are not familar with this program, residents of Mason and Oceana County can simply dial the number 2-1-1 to access information and referral pertaining to health and human services. Calls are answered by a trained call specialist and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. If people are not comfortable calling, they can also access the information on-line at www.call-211.org.

According to Lynne Russell, United Way of Mason County Executive Director, the program was designed in an effort to reduce duplication of services and have a centralized place for people to call and receive access to needed health and human services.

During the first year, there were a total of 1,363 requests for services in Mason County and 1,029 in Oceana County or 3.7% of the population for the two-county area. The number of calls in Mason County were slightly higher due to the natural disaster in June 2008 as individuals were asked to call 2-1-1 for all non-emergency situations. In the first three days, following the flood, over 130 calls were received ranging from alternative driving routes due to road closures to reporting property damage.

Below is a summary of the the most frequent requests for services between April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 for the two-county area.

• Utilities Assistance - 518 or 22% of the total requests
• Sheter Assistance - 457 or 19% of the total requests
• Health Services - 253 or 11% of the total requests
• Food Asssitance - 119 or 5% of the total requests

In Mason County obtaining shelter assistance was the highest unmet need and in Oceana County it was utilities assistance. "Our goal is for groups and organizations to use this data to determine gaps in services and determine how to best use the community's exisiting resources," stated Russell.

While United Way of Mason County administers the program and serves as the fiscal agent, it is overseen by an advisory committee which is made up of the following funding partners:

Funding Sources

Mason County

• District Health Department #10
  
• Mason County Government
  
• Mason Lake Intermediate School District
  
• Michigan Works West Central
• United Way of Mason County
• West Shore Community College

Oceana County

• District Health Department #10
• Oceana County Government
• Oceana Intermediate School District
• United Way of the Lakeshore