The Connection
February 2023
A Message from Our President & CEO

As we step into the New Year and commence National 211 Month this February, we want to thank you for trusting our organization to serve as the regional 211 for nearly two decades!
 
We are grateful for your help in building awareness about 211 as a free resource to community, health and social services, and for the work that you and countless organizations have done to help successfully connect thousands of people to resources every day through our 211 database.

Whether you are a service provider, funder, volunteer, or other community champion, you are playing an important role in helping us deliver connections to critical resources, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our data shows that in 2022, even as the pandemic began to decline, community needs increased for assistance related to housing, mental health and addiction, and clothing/household needs. A true reflection that there is still work to be done, but together we can help continue to put information at the fingertips of those that need it most. 
 
So, I thank you for your commitment to our community and to 211 San Diego to ensure our region can build and connect to resources to be safe, resilient, and informed.
 
With that, I ask you to please join me as we share our 211 Connections newsletter that will offer key announcements, milestones and industry highlights. While I wish you a healthy and peaceful New Year, I also ask that you help us continue to spread the word of 211 San Diego so that every San Diegan has the knowledge that we are here to help!


With Gratitude,
William York, President & CEO, and the 211 San Diego team!
Our Mission...
At 211 San Diego our mission is to seamlessly connect people to resources, and partner with our community to transform how people access help.
We envision all people have equitable access to engage resources necessary to create and sustain their best health and wellness.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
211 San Diego is Entering its Fifth Year of CalEITC Outreach!
The State of California offers a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), known locally as CalEITC, to supplement the federal EITC. This is our fifth year of partnering with the State, United Way of San Diego County, and several other community partners to share information about tax credits and free tax preparation assistance with working San Diegans who are paid lower wages.

San Diegans who are paid less than $60,000 annually can call 2-1-1 to schedule an appointment for free tax filing assistance with one of the local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites. These VITA sites are operated by the San Diego County Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) Coalition which is managed by the local United Way. Last year, the EITC Coalition helped 25,250 San Diego County households file their taxes for free. The EITC Coalition is still looking for volunteers!
211 San Diego Awarded Major Grant to
Improve Care in the San Diego Region!
There is special meaning in 211 Day this month (February 11th). We are excited to recognize the S. Mark Taper Foundation for awarding 211 San Diego a major grant of $100,000 to support our operations. The S. Mark Taper Foundation has provided us with two other grants in our history -- each grant providing the momentum we needed to build capacity and excel to a new level of service.

"This support of 211 San Diego is so critical because it will allow us to innovate and prioritize the real and ever-changing needs of the community we serve," said William York, President & CEO. "We appreciate the S. Mark Taper Foundation's commitment to 211 San Diego, our mission, and the community we serve."

This grant comes as we implement our new strategic plan and will specifically allow 211 to improve how care is delivered through systems-level solutions; advance and adapt technology to be more inclusive; advocate for those facing digital or service barriers; and develop new programming where our community needs it most.
Love Your Heart Annual Event
In partnership with the San Diego County and Live Well San Diego, Love Your Heart is an annual event in which organizations from across the United States and Mexico join together to provide FREE blood pressure screenings to the public on or near Valentine's Day.

The event brings community partners together to prevent heart disease and stroke, and empowers the public to take control of their heart health, know their blood pressure numbers, and know what they mean.
INDUSTRY HIGHLIGHTS
How 9/11 Improved the Referral Network by Instituting the Region-Wide 2-1-1 Dialing code
Because it is National 211 Month, we want to share how 211 came to be. This report documents that immediately following 9/11, philanthropic donors, nonprofit service providers, and government agencies—particularly unemployment agencies—mobilized quickly to meet the surge in social service needs from dislocated workers.

Yet, dislocated workers still found it difficult to connect with resources, due to a social-services infrastructure that did not support a simple and efficient method for people to learn about and access available services or for agencies to coordinate their activities.

Instituting the region-wide 2-1-1 dialing code and referral system improved the accessibility of services for residents in a future emergency as well as in ordinary times.
Looking for Community Needs Data? Check out the 2022 Community Health Needs Assessment
Every three years, social services organizations - including 211 San Diego -- and health care organizations participate in the Community Health Needs Assessment (CHNA) for San Diego, led by the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

The CHNA allows organizations like 211 San Diego to prioritize and better understand the health-related needs of San Diego County. The results are used to innovate and adapt programs and strategies to better meet the health needs of our community. 
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
211 San Diego manages the San Diego Region Community Events Calendar. If you would like to submit an event with the option of having our team share it on social media, click the button below!
Share and Stay Connected:
https://211sandiego.org/