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HUMOR

Answering the Call

Great Rivers 2-1-1 offers around-the-clock access to information about community services.

BY JANIS JOLLY | CONTRIBUTED PHOTOS

Sometimes we need help but don’t know where to don’t provide counseling directly; they listen carefully, get it. Anyone faced with this dilemma can get the then link callers to a program or service that can help. help they need simply by dialing 2-1-1. These three Mundt Reckase says that in the past, most of the digits connect them to Great Rivers 2-1-1 information 22,000 calls Great Rivers 2-1-1 receives each year and referral. Here, help is confidential, free and have been from people who need help with addiction, accessible 24/7. mental illness and basic living needs; life transitions and

Director Mary Mundt Reckase and her colleagues domestic violence are also common problems. In its role have spent 40-plus years developing a way for anyone in as a crisis line, Great Rivers 2-1-1 also assesses, supports 21 counties in southeastern Minnesota, southwestern and links people in need of immediate assistance to Wisconsin and northeastern Iowa to get the help they needed emergency services. need, when they need it. Great Rivers 2-1-1 is a service Covid-19 brought about an increase in both the of Gundersen Health System and the United Way with number and types of calls they receive. Call volume is county and state funding as well. Mary Mundt Reckase, director up 40 percent, and now more people are looking for of Great Rivers 2-1-1 help with basics such as food, eviction prevention and 24/7 ACCESS TO INFORMATION transportation. Calls about mental health problems,

“I have always felt that 2-1-1 is a great concept. It’s available to abuse situations and increased isolation have also grown. anyone 24 hours a day; it’s a free, confidential, nonjudgmental source of reliable information. The challenge is that people don’t know the service exists or know what we offer,” says Mundt Reckase. “It’s simple to reach out and dial the number, chat, text or email, and the HOW TO ACCESS GREAT RIVERS 2-1-1 community resource specialists on the other end of the line will listen Dial 211 or 800-362-8255 carefully and provide referrals matched to the caller’s needs. Our staff Visit greatrivers211.org. access a database of 1,800 agencies.” Text your zip code to 898211

The 2-1-1 team consists of nine community resource specialists Chat (online, Monday-Friday 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.) who answer the phones, three database curators who maintain the Email gr211@gundersenhealth.org database and three support and administrative staff. The specialists

WHAT HAPPENS ON A CALL?

The following examples illustrate the types of calls Great Rivers 2-1-1 receives. Great Rivers 2-1-1 protects the confidentiality of its callers; thus, these are composites, not actual calls. • A woman contacted Great Rivers 2-1-1 concerned about her adult son, who struggles with depression and recently started drinking again after being sober for many years. The son would call his mother when intoxicated, making suicidal statements. The community resource specialist listened supportively to the mother’s concerns, validated her feelings and told her of options when the son appears to be in crisis.

She also gave the mother some options for help for herself such as

NAMI and Al-Anon. The specialist asked the mother about the son’s willingness to seek treatment. She also invited her to reach out to 2-1-1 anytime if she needed additional referrals or support. • A call came in from an individual concerned about paying his rent.

His employer lost revenue as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and he was laid off. His landlord was understanding at first but then said he would need some rent money or he would have to start the eviction process. The caller was overwhelmed by his overdue bills and afraid of ending up homeless. The specialist immediately began looking for resources to help avoid eviction, identifying a program to help people directly impacted by the pandemic. The specialist also offered resources for food and help with electric bills. The caller was eager to get started contacting the programs that were shared with him and stated that having some options gave him a sense of relief.

PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER

The database is vital to keeping the specialists current on changes in available services. The database is “the backbone of the work we do. It is a reliable set of referral information and the public has access to it,” says Mundt Reckase.

The community resource specialists need a bachelor’s degree in a human service area, such as social work or community health. They must complete three weeks of training and pass an exam. A national organization of 2-1-1 professionals called the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems grants certification and 2-1-1 center accreditation.

Mundt Reckase earned her bachelor’s degree in English literature at Knox College in Illinois, then moved to La Crosse and earned a master’s degree in community health education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. She found her way to this work by answering an ad for “someone to develop a resource directory.” That was more than 40 years ago. The resource directory evolved into a 24/7 community help line in the 1980s that today is Great Rivers 2-1-1. CRW

Janis Jolly is a freelance writer in La Crosse. She is thankful that services such as Great Rivers 2-1-1 exist.

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