EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI - Swampscott, MA

The following resources are available to all Massachusetts residents:

The Swampscott Reporter

Do you need help locating family members in Haiti?

The State Department Operations Center has set up the following number for individuals seeking information about family members living in Haiti: 1-888-407-4747. Press zero (0) to speak to a customer service representative.

You can also visit the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Family Links Web site to accelerate the process of restoring contact between separated family members.

At this stage, the Web site (icrc.org/familylinks) offers the possibility for persons in Haiti and abroad to publish the names of relatives with whom they are striving to restore contact. It will progressively incorporate information offering responses to those queries.

Are you looking for a way to help?

Call the Mass 2-1-1 office for up to date information about the relief efforts and how you can help. Dial 211 from your phone. This service is available 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. If you are unable to access the 2-1-1 system due to your internal phone system, a toll-free number is available: 1-877-211- MASS (6277).

The immediate need is for money that can be used by an established relief organization to best aid victims of the earthquake. Visit interaction.org to get a list of credible responding organizations for international emergencies.

For article and more resources:
EARTHQUAKE IN HAITI - Swampscott, MA - The Swampscott Reporter

2-1-1 Offers Suicide Counseling - Orlando Business Journal:

Heart of Florida United Way’s 2-1-1 service recorded 6,869 calls since it was expanded to include crisis counseling Dec. 26.

Of those calls, 150 were designated as crisis calls and 20 of those 150 calls needed suicide intervention services.

United Way’s expanded its 2-1-1 after being awarded a from the Florida Department of Children and Families. The service will also be available on the state’s Elder Helpline.

The agency’s 2-1-1 service is a free, multilingual, 24-hour resource that helps people find critical assistance with everything from food and rent to elder care and disaster relief.

“Rising unemployment, reduced work hours, foreclosure and other serious problems are taking a terrible financial – and emotional – toll on local families,” Robert H. Brown, United Way president/CEO, said in a prepared statement.

The service responded 119,630 people in need in 2009

2-1-1 offers suicide counseling - Orlando Business Journal:

New Jersey government attempting to coordinate state's response to Haitian relief & NJ 2-1-1

The fledgling Christie administration is attempting to coordinate New Jersey's response to relief efforts in Haiti, include encouraging donations, providing assistance to the federal government on refugee resettlement and medical assistance, and offering counseling for members of the state's Haitian community.

New Jerseyans may contact NJ 2-1-1 to learn about disaster resources. Resource information is gathered through established networks so that all information provided to callers or web visitors is vetted and reliable. NJ 2-1-1 can be reached by dialing 2-1-1 from any telephone or cell phone.

Growth in calls forces 211 to enlist support

Growth in calls forces 211 to enlist support and now 211 employees are also directing several calls helping people find loved ones in Haiti.

Search for Missing Loved Ones in Haiti - CNN IReport

Posted on Thu, Dec. 03, 2009

Local help line to shut down after 40 years

By Bob Cuddy

The county’s nonemergency 211 Hotline will close Jan. 1, another victim of reduced funding during the recession.

Tim Williams, board president of the 211 SLO Hotline, passed the word to the organization’s employees Thursday afternoon. “We’re grieving,” he said in an interview.

The hotline has existed for 40 years, and became reachable by dialing 211 a little more than a year ago, when the local group received a permit from the Public Utilities Commission.

It is designed for nonemergency calls, an alternative to 911. “For emergencies, there’s 911; for everything else, there’s 211,” its slogan went.

Some of those calls may now go back to emergency lines operated by police, the county Department of Social Services, hospitals and other care providers, Williams said.

He said the local group has fielded hundreds of thousands of calls in its 40 years, including 27,000 who have called 211 in the past year.

Callers range from those who simply “can’t navigate the system” to distressed people on the verge of suicide. Suicide calls have spiked since the recession took hold, Williams said, reaching 130 per year, and 17 last month.

Williams said volunteers will continue to work the hotline around the clock for the remainder of this year.

He hopes someone can pick up the slack. “We are trying to get crisis calls answered by another agency,” Williams said.

The problem, Williams said, is acquiring sustained funding. He said many local businesses, Pacific Gas and Electric Co., some government agencies, nonprofits, and others have helped, but these are hard times. He noted the irony of having less financial help available just at the moment when it is most needed.

The 211 movement swept the state a few years back, and most counties in Southern California have one activated. Williams said San Luis Obispo County is the first to announce that it is pulling out.

The local 211 SLO Hotline has a budget of $240,000 and four full-time employees, all of whom have now lost their jobs, and a host of volunteers who man phones countywide.

Local help line to shut down after 40 years - Breaking News - SanLuisObispo.com

Calls up 110% Within One Year - KTVN Channel 2 - Reno, Neveda

Calls to Nevada 211 up 110% Within One Year - KTVN Channel 2 - Reno Tahoe News