About a decade ago, Erica Evans was a single mother who had just lost her job as an at-home caregiver.
She was living on the streets of Downtown Pittsburgh, where someone handed her a card for 211, the statewide phone line that connects people with a variety of public and private services, from food to job training, behavioral health help to housing assistance.
Evans called that number — which is free and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year — and talked with someone who helped her find housing. That same person later followed up and linked her to career training.
Eventually, Evans secured a job at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania, the organization that operates the 211 call center. A decade later, she is now a 211 training manager.
“My story’s not unique,” Evans said Monday, explaining that anyone can lose a job or experience a family crisis and find themselves in need of the help 211 offers. “These circumstances can happen to anyone.”
Evans joined state and local leaders for a Monday press conference at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Strip District office to highlight additional funding for the service in Gov. Josh Shapiro’s proposed $53 billion spending plan.
The governor has pitched boosting the state’s annual budget for the service to $1 million, up from $750,000.
If the governor’s 2026-27 spending plan is approved by the legislature, that contribution would make up more than 10% of the service’s budget, said Lt. Gov. Austin Davis.
The service also is supported by individual, corporate and foundation money.
Davis said 211’s services are particularly important when “the chaos and confusion that we see coming out of Washington, D.C. is putting Pennsylvanians at risk.”
He recalled urging people to call 211 to find food assistance when last year’s federal government shutdown halted the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known as SNAP.
“211’s call centers not just stepped up, but were the heroes in a lot of ways during that precarious time,” Davis said.
Across Pennsylvania, 211 call centers saw a 63% jump in calls from people facing food security last year, President and CEO of United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania Bobbi Watt Geer said.
People also call after fires, severe storms or other disasters. They’re connected to real people who answer phones, respond to texts and “provide an empathetic ear” at all hours of the day and night, she said.
“211 is the connective tissue across systems that would otherwise be extremely difficult to navigate,” Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato said.
Pennsylvania Sen. Wayne Fontana, D-Brookline, and Rep. Lindsay Powell, D-Lawrenceville, said they would back the measure as the legislature takes up Shapiro’s budget proposal.
“We’re the neighborhood of Mr. Rogers,” Powell said. “Here in Pittsburgh, we care about our neighbors. We want to make sure everyone has everything they need to thrive and survive.”
Officials also expressed gratitude Monday to the people who take calls from people on their worst days.
“You are the frontlines,” Pittsburgh Mayor Corey O’Connor said. “You are the first voice they hear when they’re suffering.”
