2-1-1 Stories
By the end of the call, Ms. L was in tears and expressed to the specialist that she had never been in a position of needing help and that she had no idea there were so many resources available to help her.
East Tennessee 2-1-1
East Tennessee 2-1-1 serves as the first point of access to all community services, including shelter and housing, food, substance abuse prevention/treatment, health facilities, mental health services, senior issues, financial assistance, legal assistance, child care, child and elder abuse services, disaster relief, crisis intervention, and volunteer opportunities.
East Tennessee 2-1-1 serves as one of several call centers that work to provide Tennessee with a statewide information and referral system. 2-1-1 is an easy-to-remember telephone number and Internet portal (www.211tn.org) that provides free, confidential, multilingual information and referral services that connect the residents of Knox and surrounding counties to a full range of community, social, health, and government services.
Typical callers to
2-1-1 run the gamut from adults in need of services for themselves or for children, to the financially disadvantaged of all ages, to teachers, social workers, judges, nurses, doctors, and other social service professionals working to meet the complex needs of their clients or of their own lives. 2-1-1 began in Knoxville as an independent agency in 1999 and has gone through many transitions since that time. In July of 2008, East Tennessee 2-1-1 became a program of the Knox County Office on Aging in partnership with Senior Citizens Information & Referral Service, which was already familiar with operating and updating a large database of community resources.
Number of people served
- 29,461 calls
- 29,810 referrals
- 45,239 web hits
Accomplishments/Achievements for the year
- Maintained 15-county database of more than 1,100 agencies, representing more than 6,000 services and resources.
- Administered contract with Nashville to operate the 2-1-1 call center.
- Partnered with Tennessee Department of Human Services on Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) services.
- Program Manager received recertification as a Certified Information & Referral Specialist—Aging (CIRS-A).
- Program Manager served on the Tennessee Alliance of Information & Referral Services (TNAIRS) Board of Directors and the national Alliance of Information & Referral Services (AIRS) Training Committee.
