211info Service Provider Survey

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Winter is Almost Here: Flu Shot Information and Holiday Assistance Resources

Flu Season Help
Looking for a flu shot?  Want to know where, when and how much? Oregon SafeNet, 1-800-723-3638 (SAFENET), is the one, centralized number to call for flu shot clinic information.  SafeNet can direct callers to the closest clinics and provide free or low cost options. 

Holiday Assistance Programs
211info creates and maintains the Portland/Vancouver metro area lists for Holiday Assistance programs--hot meals, toy donations and food boxes. 

Click on the links below to get the Holiday Assistance list for your area:
       Clark County
       Clackamas County
       Multnomah County
       Washington County

Race for the Cure: 2-1-1 Connects Callers to Breast and Cervical Cancer Screenings

 Together 211info and Susan B. Komen support the Oregon State Breast and Cervical Cancer Program. Komen raises funds that combined with federal dollars provides 7,000 uninsured and underinsured women and men each year with screenings to prevent and detect cancer through the Breast and Cervical Cancer Program (BCCP). 211info provides callers with referrals to physicians who will enroll partiicipants into the BCCP program..

Since February, 2008, 211info staff has taken 3,060 of these calls on the BCCP hotline. As always, 211info staff are more than telephone operators. We help women in crisis who are concerned about lumps and the fear of cancer. We try to help callers who don't qualify for the BCCP locate other possible resources.

If you know someone who may be in need of breast and cervical cancer screenings, please refer them to the Oregon BCCP hotline 1-877-255-7070, their call will be answered by a trained 211info Information & Referral Specialist.

2-1-1 Connects Families to Vital Services as Economy Slumps

Community Helpline Sees Spike in First Time Callers

PORTLAND (October 30, 2008) Reverberations from the nation's lingering economic crisis are being felt in the Portland Area. Portland's 211 community helpline is seeing a 40% increase in call volume compared to this time last year -- call volume increased from 9, 360 calls in October 2007 to 13,100 calls this October. 2-1-1 provides information and referral to government, non-profit and faith-based programs-helping callers locate services such as rent assistance, food boxes, low-cost housing, health clinics, foreclosure prevention, and job training programs.

Calls for information on food stamps demonstrate the most dramatic increase, having doubled compared to last year. In September 2007, there were 493 food stamp calls; in September 2008 there were 1,036 calls. "There is a new type of caller," says 211 Call Center Specialist, Lily Gael, "they are folks who have jobs that pay $10-$12 per hour, but just can't make ends meet." Gael adds, "There is a new group of people joining the working poor."

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2-1-1 Community Resource Update

Individual Development Accounts or IDAs are an innovative way to gain greater financial security.  IDAs offer participants a matched monthly savings program for the purchase of an asset. In other words, if a participant saves $1, it will be matched by $1, or $2 or even $3 depending on the program.

Each IDA program is unique in qualifications and asset goals.  Asset goals can range from buying a house, paying for education, buying a computer, starting a business and others.

In Oregon and Southwest Washington there a several agencies that offer IDAs; below are two programs that are currently accepting applications:

Share (Vancouver, WA) Save for the Future is Share's IDA program that allows low-income people to save up to $2,000 for an asset of their choice. For those choosing to save for a house, education or starting a small business Share will match the participants savings 2:1.  For those choosing to save for a computer or a car the program will match the participant's savings 1:1. To learn more contact Tarinn Reynolds at 695-7685 ext 304.

NAYA Family Center (Portland, OR) NAYA's IDA offers a 3:1 matched savings program targeted to first time homebuyers that income qualify. Participants must save on a monthly basis and are required to attend the Native-specific Financial Wellness classes and the Pathways Home class. To learn more contact Ben Helgren, Financial Skills Coach at 503-288-8177x273
 
To read more about IDAs in Oregon visit:
ida.tnpf.org
vidaoregon.org

To read more about IDAs in Washington visit:
cted.wa.gov