211 Racine History

Innovative Youth Services of Racine incorporated in February of 1971, operating out of the First Congregational Church in West Racine. Racine Underground Safe House (RUSH) was subsequently adopted as the street name. RUSH was designed to provide youth service programs including mental health counseling, alcohol and other drug abuse counseling, information and referral, and advocacy for youth. These services were provided over the telephone or in person, free of charge to anyone in need of assistance.

The 24-hour Racine Hotline was initiated in May of 1972 and by some standards is the second oldest continuously operating hotline in the United States. The agency relocated to a house near downtown Racine, 826 Park Avenue.

In 1987 the house at 1030 Washington Avenue was purchased outright by Innovative Youth Services of Racine. Substantial improvements to the facility were made in subsequent years.

In 1991, the popular name of S·A·F·E· Haven was developed. S·A·F·E· is the acronym for "Shelter And Family Emergency". It was felt that this new name would indicate that the agency services were available to any age group. In the Spring of 2003, Innovative Youth Services of Racine, Inc. officially changed its name to SAFE Haven of Racine, Inc. (SHoR).

The Racine Hotline was staffed exclusively by volunteers until early 2002 and on June 11, 2002, the Racine Hotline became the sole authorized vendor of 2-1-1 services for Racine County and changed its name to 211 Racine. 211 Racine is a 24 hour telephone service providing immediate confidential crisis intervention, supportive listening, and information and referral. Information is maintained on over 1,500 Racine area services. 211 Racine has been in continuous operation twenty-four hours per day, seven days per week since May of 1972.

In 2004, 211 Racine Operators responded to just over 12,000 calls, the highest annual call volume in the history of the program.

211 Racine is a collaborative effort between SAFE Haven of Racine, Inc., the United Way of Racine County and the Racine County Human Services Department.

2-1-1 in Wisconsin

211 Wisconsin

“2-1-1” is the three digit dialing code designated in 2000 by the Federal Communications Commission to provide widespread public access to community information and referral services. In response, there has been a national effort to develop statewide “2-1-1 systems” that will ensure that 2-1-1 becomes as easily recognized as 911 and 411.

Planning for 2-1-1 Wisconsin began in 1998.  The Wisconsin Public Service Commission confirmed the designation of the 2-1-1 dialing code for use for information and referral services related to health and human services in November 2001. Two years later, in September 2003, the commission delegated 2-1-1 authority to 2-1-1 Wisconsin Inc. for “proper administration of the dialing code.”

2-1-1 service originated in Dane, Milwaukee, Racine and Waukesha counties on Tuesday, June 11, 2002. Today, there are thirteen 2-1-1 call centers serving Wisconsin, providing access and service to all 72 counties.  By 2007, our call centers will answer an estimated 500,000 calls.
 

Wisconsin AIRS

WisconsinAIRS, formerly IRPW, is a statewide, non-profit professional association of Information & Referral (I&R) and Information and Assistance (I&A) organizations and individuals. The association is dedicated to developing and maintaining a high quality, coordinated information and referral network for Wisconsin and is an affiliate of AIRS, the national organization.

Calling For 2-1-1 Act Update

United Way of America

The new Congress has convened and The Calling for 2-1-1 Act will again be United Way of America's top legislative priority. Securing federal funding to help support states and communities is essential for the long-term sustainability of a nationwide 2-1-1 service. We are excited about building on the strong bipartisan support for this effort, and hope to pass this legislation in the 109th Congress. At the end of last Congress, there were 150 House sponsors and 32 Senate sponsors with significant Republican support in both chambers. We also secured a commitment from key committee leaders in the House to have a hearing on the legislation early in the First Session.

United Way of America has been working closely with the Senate and House lead sponsors of the Calling for 2-1-1 Act to identify the best opportunities to advance the bill this year. Senators Elizabeth Dole (R-NC) and Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) and newly-elected Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), the former lead House sponsor of the bill, will continue their leadership on behalf of the legislation in the Senate. Congresswoman Anna Eshoo (D-CA-14) has committed to continuing to be the lead Democrat sponsor in the House and UWA is hopeful to be able to confirm the lead Republican sponsor soon.

It is likely that the Senate 2-1-1 legislation will be introduced early the week of January 24 and the House legislation will be dropped shortly thereafter, but public announcements of the legislation by the bill sponsors will come closer to February 11. It is common practice for those pieces of legislation that are carried over from the previous Congress to be introduced early on in the session to help garner more support and quicker committee action.

UWA looks forward to working with 2-1-1 advocates around the country to help move the Calling for 2-1-1 Act this Congress. In an effort to generate broad grassroots support for the bill with this Congress, the toll-free phone number 888-PASS-211 will be available during the month of February. Over 3,000 calls were placed to congressional offices via 888.PASS.211 last year, but we hope to far exceed that number this go-round. It is very important to educate new Members about the bill, and to keep the bill on the radar screens of returning Members. Even if you have called every member of you delegation in the past, it is important to call them again to either encourage them to cosponsor The Calling for 2-1-1 Act, or to thank them for cosponsoring last Congress and remind them to cosponsor again this Congress.

We will forward the numbers of the House and Senate bills once they've been dropped and assigned. To find out more about the status of the legislation and hear from the UWA team, please contact Trisha Ferrell at trisha.ferrell@uwa.unitedway.org.