United Way, PA 211 helpline now offering text service to provide reliable covid-19 information
Phones are ringing day and night and staffing has been doubled to deal with the volume of covid-19 related calls at a United Way helpline established here nine years ago.
Bobbi Watt Geer, president and CEO of the United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania said calls to the regional 2-1-1 helpline that serves 13 counties in Southwestern Pennsylvania have increased dramatically since March 15. That was when the Allegheny County Health Department began referring calls for information and assistance with covid-19 concerns to the line.
“In the beginning, a lot of those calls were concerns about precautions to avoid covid-19, things like ‘Should I got work? Should I ride the bus?’ Now they are about economic concerns, people who have lost jobs and are worried about paying housing and utilities are calling,” she said.
A quick survey of the agency’s website- paCounts211.org— revealed the nearly one-third of all calls from Allegheny County, which has seen the highest number of covid-19 cases revolved around coronavirus concerns this week. Housing, food and shelter accounted for another third of the calls, while 11 percent of the calls centered on employment issues. In Westmoreland County about 12 percent of callers had concerns about the illness, while 46 percent had issues involving housing, food and shelter and 9 percent were concerned about employment.
The helpline that answers 24 hours a day can refer callers to local agencies that can help with specific needs.
“There are specific agencies across the region that are helping us evaluate needs and get help out to people. If I called 211 from Westmoreland County, for instance, and said ‘I can’t pay my rent.’ I’d get referred to Catholic Charities. If they can’t help, we have a limited pool we can draw from,” Watt Geer said.
She said the agency typically employs 10 so-called navigators who answer calls and texts and make referrals for assistance. The agency recently doubled its staff of call takers. It now has 20 individuals assigned to answer phones and can tap administrative staff to handle the overflow when needed.
The helpline also is offering a new text messaging service that will provide verified information on covid-19 to participants.
The campaign, launched by the United Way of Pennsylvania and PA 211, includes fraud prevention tips, information about the federal stimulus package and state resources that can help people who are struggling.
To participate, text PACOVID to 898-211.
“CARES Act financial relief will be important to many PA households, but we recognize that now is also a time when scammers are actively trying to confuse Americans who understand that individual payments are coming to many, but don’t understand exactly how or when this will happen,” United Way of Pennsylvania President Kristen Rotz said in a statement.
”We are using the PACOVID texting campaign to get accurate, verified information to Pennsylvanians about how the individual payments will flow, and to prevent fraud,” she said. “The PACOVID texting campaign will push timely, verified information to subscribers throughout the covid-19 crisis.”
For more information, click here.
Tom Davidson is a TribLive news editor. He has been a journalist in Western Pennsylvania for more than 25 years. He can be reached at tdavidson@triblive.com.
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