On February 11, the United Way of the Brazos Valley’s 2-1-1 Texas program celebrates National 2-1-1 Day, a day dedicated to bringing awareness to the valuable service 2-1-1 Texas provides to Texas residents. 2-1-1 Texas is known as the number to call when you don’t know who to call — connecting Texans to numerous community, government and faith-based resources through its 25 regional call centers statewide. Calling 2-1-1 Texas is simple and convenient — the service is free, confidential, and available 24/7/365. No matter where you live in Texas, you can dial 2-1-1, or (877) 541-7905, and find information about community resources.
Hilda Salazar serves as 2-1-1 Texas Program Manager for the Brazos Valley region and has been answering calls for help since 2005. Salazar’s typical day consists of providing referrals to services that address various needs of residents in the Brazos Valley and from across the state of Texas when other regions experience a spike in call volume.
Referrals to services include but are not limited to food pantries, homeless shelters, utility assistance, housing and rental assistance, clothing closets, workforce development programs, childcare, health care, and many others.
Salazar said 2-1-1 Texas Brazos Valley has a team of five trained and knowledgeable Call Specialists who provide information and referrals to as many as 200 residents in need each day.
“2-1-1 [Texas] has an outstanding team; they are the number to call when you don’t know who to call,” Salazar says. “I love every bit of what 2-1-1 does for our residents of the state of Texas.”
In 2021, Brazos Valley residents placed 21,460 calls to 2-1-1 Texas. The top need requests for the Brazos Valley were in the areas of health care, housing assistance and utility assistance. “The past two years in 2-1-1 [Texas] since COVID-19, we have expanded our reach to the community,” said Peggi Goss, Vice President Community Impact for United Way of the Brazos Valley. “We are happy to be able to provide services and continue to ensure that callers don’t have a long wait time.”
2-1-1 Texas is a partnership between the State of Texas Health & Human Services and United Way of the Brazos Valley, and just one of the many ways United Way of the Brazos Valley fights for the health, education, and financial stability of every person in the Brazos Valley.
By Jennifer Streeter, United Way of the Brazos Valley
About 2-1-1 Texas
2-1-1 Texas is a free information and referral call center, connecting residents to community resources. Whether you need help finding child care, food pantries, care for an aging friend or programs for substance abuse, 2-1-1 Texas is the number to call when you don’t know who to call. Trained information and referral specialists are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and services are available in over 90 languages. Learn more at uwbv.org/211texas.
About United Way of the Brazos Valley United Way of the Brazos Valley fights for the health, education and financial stability of every person in the Brazos Valley. They strengthen the community by identifying issues facing the Brazos Valley, engaging individuals to build strategies and mobilizing resources to invest for change. United Way invests through Community Impact Grants to 26 local nonprofit organizations and Investment Initiatives including 2-1-1 Texas, Early Literacy Programs, Ride 2 Health and the Youth Leadership Cabinet. Learn more at uwbv.org.
